Hillbilly Elegy (2020) - Movie Review

Ron Howard didn’t have a particularly good 2010s. Sure, Rush turned out pretty well, and his Beatles documentary was fantastic, but for the most part, his narrative films were mixed at best. The Dilemma was a tonal nightmare, In The Heart Of The Sea was entirely forgettable, Inferno made for a crappy finale to an already-mockable trilogy, and Solo… well, it was fun for what it was, but in hindsight, it’s also an example of just how non-essential Disney-era Star Wars has turned out. Whenever Howard’s movies succeeded, it was largely down to his talent for visuals managing to overcome the writing problems, and even then, that didn’t always work out. So what happens when Ron Howard makes a down-to-earth drama that doesn’t allow him to tap into his sense for panoramic grandeur? You get one of his worst-ever features.

The Wife (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: Famed author Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) has received news that he will be awarded with the Nobel Prize for Literature. As he and his wife Joan (Glenn Close) travel to Stockholm for the ceremony, journalist Nathaniel (Christian Slater) starts to ask questions about their life together, their business partnership, and in the process, begins to unearth some secrets within the family. Is Joan really as passive as the world thinks she is?

Crooked House (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: Aristide Leonides (Gino Picciano), a wealthy businessman in charge of a family dynasty, has been found dead in his stately home. His granddaughter Sophia (Stefani Martini), suspecting foul play, hires private investigator Charles Hayward (Max Irons) to look into the case. As he arrives at the Leonides estate, and meets the many members of Aristide's immediate family, it seems that not only does everyone have a motive, but they are all more than capable of fulfilling that motive. This case is going to be trickier than first thought.