The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) - Movie Review

I still don’t think Green Book was that bad.

Admittedly, I haven’t seen it since I reviewed it for FilmInk, and I definitely agree that it did not deserve Best Picture at the Oscars (even with how little I care for the ceremonies, that decision still managed to annoy me)… but I dunno, I didn’t mind the film itself. I have respect for the way the Farrelly brothers deal with disability and societal attitudes towards the ‘stupid’ and ‘crazy’, and I think Peter managed to effectively translate that empathy towards the effects of racism in that film. I mean, I recognise that it’s part of a less-than-ideal tradition in Hollywood concerning such stories, but for what it is, I think it got a worse rap than it ultimately deserved. Only time will tell if his latest will suffer the same fate, but once again, I find myself on the favourable side with his work.

Da 5 Bloods (2020) - Movie Review

Whenever filmmakers, particularly Americans, depict the Vietnam War, it’s usually for one of two reasons. Either it’s to emphasise the trauma of the soldiers who fought it, or to offer an alternate history power fantasy, a chance to reclaim some semblance of victory through the veneer of fiction. Spike Lee’s latest joint, however, offers something different. A predominantly black version of a recurrently whitewashed chapter of American history. A figurative and literal unearthing of the past not to rewrite it, but to expose those that have already done so.

The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (2020) - Movie Review

After several years as a writer, with a voice so distinctive that it bears his name in common parlance, Aaron Sorkin made his directorial debut with Molly’s Game a little while back. Now, while it showed him having ample ability at bringing his own words to the screen (basically the minimum required of writers-turned-directors), there’s something else about that feature that seems to have been overlooked. I got into it in my review proper, and even brought it up looking at Let Him Go a few days ago, but essentially, his first leap showed him as an astounding director of actors. He managed to squeeze a career-highlight performance out of Kevin Costner, and that kind of rapport isn’t something that just every Joe Bloggs with a camera can pull off. So when he’s handed an even bigger all-star cast for his follow-up, you better believe that effect is amplified.

The Post (2018) - Movie Review

 

The plot: While the New York Times publish an article detailing Pentagon papers that show a mass cover-up concerning the U.S.’s involvement in the Vietnam War, the Washington Post is stuck reporting on Nixon’s daughter’s wedding. However, when the government tries to censor the Times from posting any more of their findings, Post publisher Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) and editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) get to work on publishing the findings themselves. However, between the social, ethical and political hurdles involved, it seems that the truth comes with a price.

Kong: Skull Island (2017) - Movie Review

Japan has a certain monopoly on classic city-shredding monsters, what with the king of monsters Godzilla and his rogue’s gallery well and truly ingrained in the popular consciousness. But damn it all if the West doesn’t have its own colossal champion which also represents quite a few milestones for the art of cinema: The big bad gorilla King Kong. Whether it’s the ground-breaking effects work of the 1933 original, the years-in-the-making passion project of Peter Jackson’s 2005 version, to the 1960 introduction between the beasts in King Kong Vs. Godzilla, the Eighth Wonder of the World has quite a colourful history. I’ll admit that I’m not as big into giant monster movies as I probably should be, but I am at least willing to hear it out… even if the trailers didn’t exactly instil hope for this one. So, as we delve into the next step in yet another cinematic universe, how does it hold up? This is Kong: Skull Island.