Ben’s Column: Mogul Mowgli (2021) – Review
While the film invites direct comparisons to Sound of Metal, Mogul Mowgli has different ambitions on its mind.
Ben’s Column: Ted Lasso Season 2, Episode 7: “Headspace” – Review
“Headspace” doesn’t introduce new conflicts; rather, they feel like natural extensions of what the show has been building towards throughout the season.
Ben’s Column: Anne at 13,000 Ft. (2021) – Review
A dynamic central performance and a solid directorial effort makes Anne at 13,000 Ft. a film that’s not to be missed.
Ben’s Column: Ted Lasso Season 2, Episode 6: “The Signal” – Review
If anything, “The Signal” shows that Ted Lasso can handle dramatic turns as well as it can the comedic moments.
Ben’s Column: Ted Lasso Season 2, Episode 5: “Rainbow” – Review
Season two juggles new plot developments and ignores newer ones, to mixed results.
Ben’s Column: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) – Review
A solid entry to the beginning of a new era for Marvel
Ben’s Column: Ted Lasso Season 2, Episode 4: “Carol of the Bells” – Review
Christmas comes early this year, in one of Ted Lasso’s best episodes.
Ben’s Column: Ted Lasso Season 2, Episode 3: “Do the Right-est Thing” – Review
If there’s one of Ted Lasso’s tertiary characters that I’m excited to see more of, it’s Sam Obisanya.
Ben’s Column: CODA (2021) – Review
Heder’s script has a few plot hurdles that keep it from greatness, but her heart is in the right place, and the film represents a promising step forward for her and Emilia Jones.
Ben’s Column: Nine Days (2020) – Review
Nine Days is a refreshingly unique film that announces Oda as an exciting voice with important things to say. The film could have easily slid into familiar sci-fi territory, devoting less time to the more existential issues and more time on structural bureaucracy.
Ben’s Column: Ted Lasso Season 2, Episode 2: “Lavender” – Review
Here’s hoping that every episode title this season refers to a different flavor of tea.
Ben’s Column: Jungle Cruise (2021) – Review
If you’ve seen The African Queen, or Indiana Jones, or Pirates of the Caribbean, or The Lost City of Z, that seems like as safe a place as any to start when discussing Disney’s latest live-action adventure. Because Jungle Cruise feels largely indebted to all of those films, and pulls elements from each one, but still struggles to stand on its own.
Ben’s Column: Ted Lasso Season 2, Episode 1: “Goodbye Earl” – Review
It feels downright serendipitous that the arc of the titular hero of Apple TV+’s critical darling comedy closely mirrored my own journey with the show.
Ben’s Column: Old (2021) – Review
If you’re one of the few remaining stalwarts of M. Night Shyamalan’s films in 2021, you probably already know if you’re going to enjoy his newest film, Old. It’s been a bumpy road for the writer-director ever since the breakout success of The Sixth Sense in 1999. Virtually every new project feels like it’s treated with reserved skepticism, given Shyamalan’s largely floundering genre exercises, and I’m sorry to report that Old does him no favors.
Ben’s Column: Pig (2021) – Review
A funny thing happened on the way to the truffle forest: writer and director Michael Sarnoski has crafted a deep, soulful film, one that has grander ideas on its mind than what audiences may originally think, and a film that manages to use Cage in a way that few directors have been able to tap into. Cage’s best performances come in films that underplay the rage that always seems to be bubbling below the surface, and Pig is a film that uses his gravely monotone to perfection, one of the year’s best performances so far.
The Obsessive Viewer 