Author: Matt Conway

Jim Carrey has become an enigma of sorts, disappearing from the mainstream, only reappearing to make some truly bizarre remarks. Netflix’s latest documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond gives us some insight into Carrey’s madness, delivering a consistently thought-provoking examination of two of the oddest Hollywood talents the industry has ever witnessed. Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond follows Jim Carrey looking back on his portal of Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon. The film acts as both a memory of Kaufman’s eccentric work and an examination of the intense process Carrey went through to bring Kaufman to life in this movie. Even people…

Fans of the Fantastic Four have been continually displeased with the team’s on-screen depiction, and its hard to blame them. The Roger Corman Fantastic Four film was far too cheesy and cheap to make much of an impact, while the Tim Story Fantastic Four films had some woeful casting and terrible writing. I will admit, The Rise of Silver Surfer is not half-bad, but maybe that’s for another day. Out of all the Fantastic Four adaptations, none received as harsh of backlash as the 2015 reboot. Despite featuring a promising cast and a talented director in Chronicle’s Josh Trank, the film was a huge bomb both critically and…

Pixar has crafted some of the greatest animated films ever, but some would say they have lost their creative spark since Toy Story 3 in 2010. While their latest animated effort Coco isn’t exactly a return to form for the animation giant, its a surprisingly resonant and impeccably crafted flick that sidesteps its narrative troubles. Coco follows Miguel, an inspiring musician who has grown up in a family that has outlawed music. When he tries to re-connect with his ancestor on the Day of the Dead, he enters the Land of the Dead, where he must learn where his true values lie. Like with every…

Greta Gerwig has been one of my favorite talents during her Hollywood career, with her writing and starring effort in Frances Ha making for one of my all time favorite films. Gerwig continues her evolution as a first-time director with Lady Bird, which is easily among one of the year’s best films so far. Lady Bird follows Christine aka “Lady Bird”, a teenager growing up in Sacramento with big dreams of going to New York. The film follows her through her senior year, grappling with dilemmas of young adulthood while wrestling with her passionate mom at every turn. Coming of age films are a dime…

Denzel Washington is a great actor, and I while I was highly disappointed by his last outing Fences, there are few in the industry who can equal his talent. With his latest film Roman J. Israel, Esq., Washington delivers a memorable performance, one that carries its intriguing, yet often times frustrating narrative. Named after the film’s titular character, Roman J. Israel, Esq. follows a smart and idealistic law assistant whose beliefs are put to the test when his practice is being closed down. Like a great athlete, Washington straps this film on his back, carrying it through some of its execution errors. As Roman Israel, Washington…

Rotten Tomatoes and DC just do not get along, which is particularly odd considering Warner Brothers owns both companies. During the duration of the DC Cinematic Universe, Rotten Tomatoes has played a controversial hand in seemingly all of their films, leading to much ire from diehard superhero fans. The critic-aggregated site in general has had a noteworthy year, being blamed by studios and stars alike for their film’s failure (looking at you The Rock). What those complainers don’t realize is that they are continuing to surrender more power to the site, which is starting to feel like Judge Dredd determining…

As one of the standouts of this year’s Sundance Film Festival and a potential Oscar player coming March, Mudbound is a film deserving of all these praises, serving as an equally ambitious, yet intimate tale of class and racial struggles. Its also the best Netflix Original Film yet, showing the potential this streaming player can have in film. Based on Hillary Jordan’s novel, Mudbound follows two families stuck in rural Mississippi in the 1940s, living a life of constant work and racial tensions between them. When two men from the family return home, their new world-view challenges the preconceived notions of the era.…

Harkening back to classical detective narratives, Murder On The Orient Express aims to be a refreshing throwback in an era of big blockbusters. Due to its woeful execution and mundane storytelling, its a high-profile trainwreck, one that wastes its illustrious material and high-profile cast. Murder On The Orient Express is based on the Agatha Christie detective series that follows Hercule Poirot, a high-strung and detail-oriented detective who is known to be the best in the world. When taking a train for a leisurely break from crime solving, a passenger on the train is murdered, thrusting him into another complex case. Much of the success…

Following up its middling predecessor, I wouldn’t call Daddy’s Home 2 a bad movie, because its barely even a movie. While there are some amusing moments along the journey, this is easily one of the year’s laziest films, wasting its dynamic comedic cast as well as the audience’s time. The film follows the Brad and Dusty, who are continuing to feel out their roles as fathers and step-fathers respectively. When they decide to host Christmas together, they are in for a scary surprise when their fathers also come into town. The fleeting moments of humor here are all dedicated to this cast,…

The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to thrive critically and financially, but the Nords God Thor hasn’t shared much of that success. Both Thor and Thor: The Dark World are regarded as two of the weakest Marvel films (even though I find Dark World to be underrated). Thor: Ragnarok is a noticeable improvement, as it offers up one of the MCU’s most entertaining and unique entries, but is still held back by trappings of the Marvel brand. After the powerful God of Death Hela takes over Asgaard, Thor: Ragnarok follows Thor and his quest to avenge his father Odin, which takes him on a cosmic journey along with a few familiar Marvel…