Movie Reviews
First Reformed
Director: Paul Shrader
Staring: Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried
Genre: Drama
First Reformed is one of the more under the radar films of 2018, but it also happens to be one of the best films of the year and features one of the best male performances of the year from Ethan Hawke. Hawke plays Reverend Toller, a solitary man who is the pastor at a failing, historic church. His living quarters are empty except for a table and chair that Toller uses to write in his journal while indulging in a heavy dose of alcohol.
Clearly, Reverend Toller is trying to make some of the pain go away. The pain from the loss of his son and the literal pain from the cancer growing his body. When Toller offers council to a young couple, his life begins to spiral out of control. Or does it? Some would argue that he gains clarity and purpose.
First Reformed is the kind of film that is not for everyone. The film asks a lot of questions, the biggest is in regards to humans and our impact on the environment. How manmade climate change relates to religion is the crux of the film. First Reformed features one of the crazier final 20 minutes of a film I've seen in a long time. If you're looking for a film that will get you thinking and reflecting, then give First Reformed a shot.
Sicario
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Staring: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro
Genre: Crime
In a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, two rebels just might be able to restore order: Max, a man of action and of few words, and Furiosa, a woman of action who is looking to make it back to her childhood homeland.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Director: George Miller
Staring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
Genre: Action/ Sci-Fi
In a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, two rebels just might be able to restore order: Max, a man of action and of few words, and Furiosa, a woman of action who is looking to make it back to her childhood homeland.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Director: Wes Anderson
Staring: Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, Willem Dafoe, pretty much anybody who has ever been in a Andereson film
Genre: No genre can define this film. Adventure/comedy I guess
The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.
The Guest
Director: Adam Wingard
Staring: Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe
Genre: Thriller/Mystery/Action/?
A soldier introduces himself to the Peterson family, claiming to be a friend of their son who died in action. After the young man is welcomed into their home, a series of accidental deaths seem to be connected to his presence.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part - 1
Director: Francis Lawrence
Staring: Jennifer Lawrence, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Josh Hutcherson
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
When Katniss destroys the games, she goes to District 13 after District 12 is destroyed. She meets President Coin who convinces her to be the symbol of rebellion, while trying to save Peeta from the Capitol.
Nightcrawler
Director: Dan Gilroy
Staring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton
Genre: Thriller
When Lou Bloom, a driven man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.
The Drop
Director: Michaël R. Roskam
Staring: Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini, Noomi Rapace
Genre: Drama
Bob Saginowski finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living - no matter the cost.
Blue Ruin
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Staring: Macon Blair, Devin Ratray, Amy Hargreaves
Genre: Thriller
A mysterious outsider's quiet life is turned upside down when he returns to his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. Proving himself an amateur assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.
Snowpiercer
Director: Bong Joon-Ho
Staring: Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, John Hurt
Genre: Sci-Fi
Set in a future where a failed climate-change experiment kills all life on the planet except for a lucky few who boarded the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe, where a class system emerges.
The Wolf of Wall Street
Director: Martin Scorsese
Staring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Kyle Chandler
Genre: Drama
Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.
Lone Survivor
Director: Peter Berg
Staring: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster
Genre: Action/Drama
Marcus Luttrell and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.
Prisoners
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Staring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Paul Dano, Terrance Howard
Genre: Drama/Thriller
When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?
Captain Phillips
Director: Paul Greengrass
Staring: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman
Genre: Drama/Action
The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
Only God Forgives
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Staring: Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm
Genre: Crime/Drama
Julian, a drug-smuggler thriving in Bangkok's criminal underworld, sees his life get even more complicated when his mother compels him to find and kill whoever is responsible for his brother's recent death.
The Place Beyond the Pines
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Staring: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes
Genre: Crime/Drama
A motorcycle stunt rider turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for his lover and their newborn child, a decision that puts him on a collision course with an ambitious rookie cop navigating a department ruled by a corrupt detective.
Les Miserables
Director: Tom Hooper
Staring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway
Genre: Musical
In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives for ever.
Lincoln
Director: Steven Spielberg
Staring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones
Genre: Biography
As the Civil War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.
Looper
Director: Rian Johnson
Staring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano
Genre: Action/Sci-fi
In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent into the past, where a hired gun awaits - someone like Joe - who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by sending back Joe's future self for assassination.
