3/5 Stars
Lady Bird: Greta Gerwig's solo directorial debut is a very solid yet undeniably familiar coming-of-age comedy. Saiorse Ronan further proves why she's one of the best young actors in the business with her authentic-feeling performance as the titular character and Gerwig's script does a good job of exploring the complicated relationship that exists between a child and an overbearing parents and the extensive soul-searching teens go through when they're about to take the plunge into adulthood. Even though it's a pretty straightforward film, I wouldn't be shocked if it ended up making some noise in this year's weak awards field.
3.5/5 Stars
Mudbound: 2017's Sundance slate has further solidified itself as one of the finest in the festival's 39-year history with the endearing historical drama Mudbound. Dee Rees' nuanced character study offers up an unflinching look at the little-explored period of post-World War II in the South by detailing the struggles a pair of men from different racial backgrounds (Jason Mitchell and Garrett Hedlund, both phenomenal) undergo while trying to readjust to civilian life in Mississippi. It's fascinating watching these pair of emotionally-conflicted men that had experienced similar hells overseas develop a deep, cathartic bond against a backdrop of palatable discrimination and poverty. The not overly compelling first half that predominantly focuses on the families of these men who live and work on the same farm and a few heavy-handed plot developments undercut the immense power Mudbound offers up at times, but this well-acted and sharp-edged film is a pretty impressive step in the right direction in Netflix's quest to be taken seriously as an original content provider.
3.5/5 Stars
Justice League: I'm starting to believe that there's some kind of secret smear campaign being aimed at the DC brand. Justice League might not be full of exciting new ideas or magnetic performances, but it's a rousing, fast-paced and action-packed crowdpleaser that plays the genre hits as well as many of the projects Marvel has received universal acclaim for at least two dozen times since the superhero genre became Hollywood's biggest blockbuster craze in the mid-2000's. With the "overly dark tone" that supposedly sparked the waves of backlash towards Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad completely absent from Justice League, it now seems like the large contingent of professional critics and social media take-hurlers that make sport of spitting venom at DC while gushing over every project Marvel churns out are simply penalizing the former for entering the shared cinematic universe game at a later date than the latter. Conspiracies aside, I had a lot of fun with Justice League and hopefully it's somewhat underwhelming box office performance won't prevent this series from moving forward.
4/5 Stars
Mudbound: 2017's Sundance slate has further solidified itself as one of the finest in the festival's 39-year history with the endearing historical drama Mudbound. Dee Rees' nuanced character study offers up an unflinching look at the little-explored period of post-World War II in the South by detailing the struggles a pair of men from different racial backgrounds (Jason Mitchell and Garrett Hedlund, both phenomenal) undergo while trying to readjust to civilian life in Mississippi. It's fascinating watching these pair of emotionally-conflicted men that had experienced similar hells overseas develop a deep, cathartic bond against a backdrop of palatable discrimination and poverty. The not overly compelling first half that predominantly focuses on the families of these men who live and work on the same farm and a few heavy-handed plot developments undercut the immense power Mudbound offers up at times, but this well-acted and sharp-edged film is a pretty impressive step in the right direction in Netflix's quest to be taken seriously as an original content provider.
3.5/5 Stars
Justice League: I'm starting to believe that there's some kind of secret smear campaign being aimed at the DC brand. Justice League might not be full of exciting new ideas or magnetic performances, but it's a rousing, fast-paced and action-packed crowdpleaser that plays the genre hits as well as many of the projects Marvel has received universal acclaim for at least two dozen times since the superhero genre became Hollywood's biggest blockbuster craze in the mid-2000's. With the "overly dark tone" that supposedly sparked the waves of backlash towards Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad completely absent from Justice League, it now seems like the large contingent of professional critics and social media take-hurlers that make sport of spitting venom at DC while gushing over every project Marvel churns out are simply penalizing the former for entering the shared cinematic universe game at a later date than the latter. Conspiracies aside, I had a lot of fun with Justice League and hopefully it's somewhat underwhelming box office performance won't prevent this series from moving forward.
4/5 Stars
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