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Matt Hurt's Columns 0

Movie Review: Day Shift (2022)

Day Shift, the debut film from director J.J. Perry, is the latest offering from Netflix’s “throw it all at the wall and see what sticks” streaming blockbuster playbook. Despite dressing up an overdone action movie skeleton with genre fare, Day Shift succeeds by the skin of its stylistic action choreography and fun buddy energy between Dave Franco and Jamie Foxx. Though the story isn’t as meaty or interesting as you might like, the energy and quick pace of the film helps Day Shift stand out from the pack.

Matt Hurt's Columns 0

Movie Review: Summering (2022)

James Ponsoldt’s Summering is a peculiar coming of age drama with some slight genre leanings that spring up seemingly out of nowhere. The film is very clearly a riff on Stand By Me, but it doesn’t have the nuance or even the sense of direction that Rob Reiner’s classic film had. Not by a long shot. Instead, Summering is a tonal mess as the characters are haunted by visions of a dead man whose body they discover and (inexplicably) decide to move and desecrate. Again, this is a coming of age drama, so these genre trappings seem completely random and do not fit well in the narrative at all.

Matt Hurt's Columns 0

Movie Review: Nope (2022)

As he did with Get Out and Us, Nope further proves when we watch a Jordan Peele film, we are in the hands of one hell of a unique genre storyteller. Although Peele’s best work is still his debut, Nope demonstrates considerable growth in his talent behind the camera in terms of scale and overall design. Nope is a spectacle we won’t soon forget.

Matt Hurt's Columns 0

Movie Review: Don’t Make Me Go (2022)

For 2/3s of its runtime, Hannah Marks’ Don’t Make Me Go is a very solid road trip drama about a father keeping his fatal brain tumor a secret as he takes his teenage daughter to meet her estranged mother. John Cho and Mia Isaac give strong performances in a script that does a respectable job of setting up the dire and dramatic circumstances in which the pair find themselves. It is unfortunate, however, that the other 1/3 of the film squanders that good will by upending itself with an unearned and manipulative story beat that feels too much like Vera Herbert’s script is attempting to trick the audience rather than bring the story to an organic and satisfying conclusion.

Matt Hurt's Columns 0

Movie Review: Gone in the Night (2022)

Gone in the Night is a nice blend of character drama and thriller mystery. It doesn’t disappoint in its resolution, as long as you buy into a relatively outlandish premise. Anchored by strong performances by Winona Ryder and a calm and cool Dermot Mulroney, Gone in the Night is a solid entry in the growing vacation rental suspense niche of the thriller genre.

The Obsessive Viewer Podcast 0

The Obsessive Viewer Podcast – Ep 374 – Stranger Things 4, Vol. 1 (Patreon Reviews)

In this special episode, I am releasing all of my Patreon-Exclusive episode reviews of Stranger Things 4, Vol. 1 on the main feed. Listen to me share the highs and lows of the seven episodes that were released on May 27 in preparation for Vol. 2, which releases on July 1st. To hear my thoughts on Vol. 2, you’ll need to sign up to our Patreon at the $2 or higher levels at Patreon.com/ObsessiveViewer.

Guest Episode 0

The Obsessive Viewer Podcast – Ep 372 – The Northman (2022) & Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) – Happiness (1998), and Lightyear (2022) – Guest: Sam Watermeier (Midwest Film Journal)

In this episode, I welcome my friend Sam Watermeier from Midwest Film Journal back to the show to review Robert Eggers’ The Northman and Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World Dominion. We also discuss one of Sam’s favorite films, Todd Solondz’s 1998 film, Happiness and I give a brief review of Pixar’s latest, Lightyear.