Category: Review

  • 45 Years

    45 Years

    I proposed to my wife in a coffee shop. I dressed in a suit and sang her a song in front of strangers. The ring was inside a coffee cup. I gave it to her on one knee. I did these things because I was asking her to marry me, and marriage is important. I…

  • St. Vincent

    St. Vincent

    A Saturday night run to the local DVD machine saw my husband return with the 2014 movie St. Vincent. I didn’t hold high hopes, although seeing Bill Murray and Naomi Watts listed together in the cast – I was intrigued. Bill Murray plays the lead role of Vincent McKenna, a drunken, grouchy war veteran. He…

  • Groundhog Day

    Groundhog Day

    Another February 2nd, another chance to discuss the classic film. Join us as we ponder the question: Are we all stuck in Groundhog Day?

  • Prometheus

    Prometheus

    This year Ridley Scott has been receiving praise for his direction of The Martian; last year he was the center of Biblical controversy with his adaptation of Exodus: Gods and Kings, but one thing remains constant in his work (whether it be Blade Runner or GI Jane), he is asking serious questions. And not just…

  • The Revenant

    The Revenant

    Let’s just get this out of the way: DiCaprio is magnificent in The Revenant. Give him an Oscar. It’s a part that requires a passion very few other actors possess, or at least are capable of revealing. Then again, I did say “very few.” That’s because it wouldn’t take much to see Daniel Day Lewis…

  • Concussion

    Concussion

    As a youth growing up (a long time ago), I never played football for two reasons. First, I was reared in Indiana where football was relegated to a minor sport far behind basketball — in fact my high school didn’t even have a football team at that time. Secondly, I was incredibly untalented when it…

  • The Hateful Eight

    The Hateful Eight

    There are few filmmakers as polarizing as Quentin Tarantino. Some celebrate him. Others revile him. Now Tarantino is back with his latest film The Hateful Eight — a fitting title considering this is the eighth film of his career. Listen to this month’s podcast as we ask: Is there truth in the works of Quentin…

  • Children of Men

    Children of Men

    I never planned to review Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men. My hope was to review the new movie Son of Saul just in time to make sure the holidays didn’t get too cheery, but alas we here in Milwaukee have to wait until February to ruin our night. In the meantime a friend crashed at…

  • Spotlight

    Spotlight

    We know the story. Priests in the Catholic church abused lots of kids for a long time. With a story so familiar is it worth seeing Spotlight? Absolutely. Spotlight allows the viewer to re-enter the ignorance of the reporters who said that a priest wouldn’t do this, or if a couple priests were guilty then…

  • The End of the Tour

    The End of the Tour

    Biopics are tricky things… then again The End of the Tour is not exactly that; it is not not one either, but it teeters. The biggest divergence is from the sort of hindsight we are provided with in films like Ray, or Walk the Line in which each step of the subject’s life sets them…