Film and TV Reviews and Podcasts
In Denis Villeneuve‘s latest movie Sicario, Emily Blunt plays Kate, an idealistic FBI agent recruited to an interagency task force working to take down a drug cartel on the US/Mexico border. As the task force moves closer to the objective, Kate begins to question the tactics they use and her purpose within the unit.
Only a few years after Prometheus marked Ridley Scott‘s return to the sci-fi space genre, he’s back with an adaptation of Andy Weir’s breakout hard sci-fi novel The Martian (read my review on Obsessive Book Nerd here). The Martian takes a realistic look at survival on our barren celestial neighbor and showcases what humanity can accomplish when unified toward a […]
Check out my review of No Escape. A tense, unnerving thriller starring Owen Wilson.
Ask Me Anything‘s cover art and description on Netflix are deceiving. The cover displays star Britt Robertson (Tomorrowland, Under the Dome) haphazardly wearing a man’s shirt and tie with a disheveled bed behind her and a befuddled, “look what I’ve gotten myself into” expression on her face. Netflix’s elevator pitch plot description reads: “On a yearlong break between high school […]
About 45 minutes into Fantastic Four‘s meager 85 minute runtime, the 5 year old sitting a few rows in front of me loudly asked her parents “Which one of them turns into the rock thing!?” I usually have zero tolerance for movie talkers and theater disruptions. However, instead of quietly wishing that theaters would double charge parents who bring their […]
Alex Garland is responsible for writing two of my favorite movies in the last fifteen years. 28 Days Later and Sunshine were both collaborations between Garland and director Danny Boyle that told thought-provoking stories about humanity’s flaws and its willpower in a familiar but somehow original sci-fi or horror premise. Garland’s directorial debut Ex Machina follows this trend and leaves […]
Vacation shares some surprising similarities with Jurassic World. Both are pseudo-reboots of decades-old franchises masquerading as sequels that both feature amusement parks with velociraptors. Of course, in Jurassic World the velociraptor is the only character with meaningful development whereas Vacation‘s velociraptor is a roller coaster. However, their biggest similarity is the fact that they both missed their marks completely.
Well, the 2015 Indy Film Fest is behind us. This was the first year I had the opportunity to experience more than just the opening night film and festivities. I must say, this was a spectacular year for a first time festivalgoer and I’m already looking forward to next year. Of course, you can read all of my Indy Film […]
Wildlike was the closing film of 2015’s Indy Film Fest on July 25th. You can find more of ObsessiveViewer.com’s coverage of the festival here. Following the death of her father, troubled teenager Mackenzie (Ella Purnell) is sent to Juneau, Alaska to stay with her uncle (Brian Geraghty) while her mother works out some of her own issues. When her uncle’s […]
Saturday was Indy Film Fest’s “best of” screenings, which featured screenings of each of the festival’s winning shorts and features in their respective categories. Fortunately for me, one of the movies I wanted to see most of all this year, Charles Hood’s Night Owls, won best feature in the American Spectrum category. This gave me the opportunity to see it […]
As part of my ongoing (but limited) coverage of 2015’s Indy Film Fest, last night I attended a screening of the festival’s “Hoosier Reels” block of short films. The screening featured 6 short films “grown, filmed, dreamed, or situated” in Indiana. For this review, I’ll just go film by film and share my thoughts.
Written by Amy Schumer and directed by Judd Apatow, Trainwreck is a cookie cutter romantic comedy that follows every beat and convention of the genre to a tee but attempts to get away with it on the strength of its lead actress. Surprisingly, it almost succeeds in that regard and manages to provide some laughs as it takes its audience […]
In what could be the biggest review series in the history of Obsessive Viewer, I’m committing myself to reviewing all the movies and shows in Marvel Studios’ Cinematic Universe. You can find an index of my MCU reviews here and check out The Obsessive Viewer Podcast here. Now, here’s my review of Ant-Man.
I watched Mistress America as part of 2015’s Indy Film Fest at The Toby in the Indianapolis Museum of Art. You can find more of ObsessiveViewer.com’s coverage of the festival here. Mistress America is the latest comedy from Noah Baumbach (Greenberg, While We’re Young, Frances Ha) and stars Greta Gerwig, who also co-wrote the script. The movie is about Tracy […]
I watched Chrysalis as part of 2015’s Indy Film Fest at the IMAX theater in the Indiana State Museum on July 17th. You can find more of ObsessiveViewer.com’s coverage of the festival here. From writer Ben Kurstin and director John Klein, Chrysalis is a post-apocalyptic movie in the vain of 28 Days Later set in 2038. In this future where […]
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