Shadow In The Cloud (2021) - Movie Review

Much like with Ava late last year, I was initially debating whether I’d even deign to watch this movie at all, let alone review it, and for largely the same reason: The abusive history of the guy who wrote it. Only this isn’t a niche example like Matthew Newton, as Max Landis has had people distancing themselves from him as early as 2012’s Chronicle, his first feature-length script.

Considering it and American Ultra are the only good movies with his name attached to them (and even then, it’s the presentation that makes those two memorable, not necessarily the writing), there’s other reasons to be sceptical about this one… but again, like with Ava, I don’t see disregarding the work of women in the industry off the back of one toxic guy to be all that helpful a move, although to her credit, director and co-writer (we’ll get to that) Roseanne Liang gets why audiences might distance themselves from this film based on his involvement. I, however, am not going to advocate for that. Instead, I’m going to declare proudly that this is a fantastic film that is more than worth checking out.

Love, Simon (2018) - Movie Review

 

I’m quite thankful that I grew up in the generation that I did. One where not being straight isn’t seen as much as a taboo as it once was. Oh sure, discrimination persists as it does for pretty much anything that isn’t the norm, but when I came out as bisexual at my high school formal (in response to a gay joke, no less), words cannot express how happy I was that went over as well as it did. It remains one of my few memories from that time that I wholeheartedly cherish.

But even with that said, no matter how much acceptance there is in society for such things, it still feels like a secret that needs to be divulged. "Coming out" is still treated as more of an event than anything to do with heterosexuality, and at a time like high school where one is still trying to figure out what their identity even is, that event can feel terrifying. Even when dealing with people who you know in your heart of hearts would welcome it.

Everything, Everything (2017) - Movie Review

I’ve covered a lot of movies during this blog’s relatively short existence. In that time, I think I’ve run the gamut in terms of initial reactions. From the sensible (New Michael Bay Transformers movie is probably going to suck) to the somewhat irrational (The Angry Birds Movie has a vendetta against me personally), I’ve shown a pretty broad spectrum. Well, for the second time this year, we’re dealing with a film that I am having difficulty believing even exists in the first place.