This has been quite a year for the Washington family. Its patriarch Denzel Washington is currently chewing the scenery starring in Gladiator II. Meanwhile, a Netflix film he co-produced with his daughter Katia Washington, The Piano Lesson is released on the same weekend. Based on August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, it’s definitely a family project …
FlixChatter Review: WICKED Part I (2024) – Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande are wicked good in Jon M. Chu’s vivid, dazzling, and surprisingly heartfelt movie musical
As you’ve likely seen on social media, it’s that time again in Hollywood where two blockbuster juggernauts are competing at the box office. Last year we got Barbenheimer, and this year we got dueling Roman bloodshed and Broadway songs with GLICKED (check out my review of Gladiator II). I have to preface my review by …
FlixChatter Review: Small Things Like These (2024) – Cillian Murphy brings a subtle intensity to this slow yet absorbing historical drama
As the holidays are approaching, there are a bunch of new movies coming that are set at Christmas time. Well, Small Things Like These takes place over Christmas in 1985, but this is NOT a warm and fuzzy holiday movie. Adapted from the Booker Prize-nominated novel by Claire Keegan, it’s a sobering film dealing with …
FlixChatter Review: GLADIATOR II (2024) – The cast brings their A-game but this sequel is heavy on CGI spectacle, light on logic + emotional resonance
It’s been 24 years since Gladiator was released and it remains one of my favorite movies of all time. I rewatched it recently and it still holds up exceptionally well. It starts strong and ends with equal fortitude. The hero’s journey is complete with Maximus’ death, as he sacrificially saves Lucilla, her son Lucius, as …
TV Review: AppleTV+’s SLOW HORSES (S4) – the best yet underrated spy series that just keeps getting better every season
My pal and FC loyal contributor Ted S. and I are huge fans of the Slow Horses, the acclaimed dark comedy spy series on Apple TV+. I'm thrilled that in addition to the upcoming 5th season, we'll be getting a new 6-episode sixth season as well, expected to air in 2026. This is one of …
FlixChatter Review: A REAL PAIN (2024) – Jesse Eisenberg + Kieran Culkin’s bittersweet buddy dramedy is a real delight
Making a film that deals with the holocaust as a buddy comedy seems like an audacious choice. Yet that is what actor/writer/director Jesse Eisenberg managed to do with A Real Pain and managed to create a heartwarming and funny film that is not at all painful to watch. I have to admit I’m not all …
TCFF 2024 Review: BLITZ – Saoirse Ronan is luminous in Steve McQueen’s impeccably-crafted but emotionally underwhelming WWII drama
Blitz tells the tale of a group of Londoners navigating life during the bombings of World War II in the 1940s. Written and directed by Steve McQueen, the film opened with a fiery inferno right from its opening scene. Firefighters desperately try to put out the blaze that engulfs a row of houses, one of …
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