I saw the first Moana movie pretty late, six years after its 2016 release, and I had a great time with it. The visuals are gorgeous and the songs are pretty memorable, so that’s the reason I was curious to check this out on the big screen. Well, like the original, this movie is a …
Thanksgiving Special: Musings on the dysfunctional family dramedy HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (1995) – directed by Jodie Foster
A couple of weeks ago I hosted a movie night with one of my Indonesian friends who suggested that we watch Home for the Holidays, which happens to be one of her favorite holiday movies. As I was watching it, I realized I was stepping into a cultural space that felt pretty different from my …
FlixChatter Review: JUROR #2 (2024) – Clint Eastwood’s engrossing courtroom drama has me feeling torn in all the best ways.
I actually heard about this film from reports that Warner Bros had somehow ‘buried’ the film as it was released with minimal fanfare in limited theaters with no plan for expansion. It’s really a bummer not only because it could be 94-year-old Clint Eastwood’s last film, but because it deserves to be seen by more …
FlixChatter Review: The Piano Lesson (2024) – Malcolm Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s play is intense and spine-chilling, with a scene-stealing performance by Danielle Deadwyler
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 …
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