In the first few minutes of Picture This, the main protagonist, Pia (Simone Ashley), tells her conservative mother (Sindhu Vee) that she wants to focus on her career as a photographer who owns her studio rather than get married. “I’m building a life for myself on my own,” says Pia. “I don’t need a man to do that.”
Continue reading “NOC Review: Prime Video’s ‘Picture This’ is a Cute Cliché “
Why does cinema need satire? Because sometimes we need to be reminded that society is broken. It allows us to question the way things are, how they got there, and gives us hope that somewhere along the way, reels of celluloid will allow us to see ourselves, and help us learn to fix our flaws down the line. This is something that director Bong Joon Ho does masterfully. We’ve seen this in Snowpiercer, Okja, Best Picture winner Parasite, and now, Mickey 17.
Continue reading “NOC Review: Bong Joon Ho’s ‘Mickey 17’ is Weird, Wacky, and All Too Relevant”
To all those who’d ground him, take a message back from me: Sam Wilson is flying high, defying gravity! Wait. Wrong movie. However, it’s no less true! Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is Captain America, and Captain America: Brave New World proves it unequivocally!
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Soars with Solid Superheroics”
Last year I reviewed an action movie that I had incredibly high hopes for based on its cast and action-proficient filmmakers, called Argylle. While the movie had its moments, ultimately, it was a pretty big mess. A little over a year to the date at which that film premiered, I found myself about 70 minutes into Love Hurts thinking, “This is 2025’s Argylle; just only slightly better.” That is not really a great thing.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Love Hurts’ is a Sweet But Messy Valentine”
The idea of seeing things from the perspective of those who have passed is not a new or innovative concept. From movies like David Lowery’s A Ghost Story to Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lovely Bones, we’ve experienced narratives of tragedy told from the POV of the ghosts acting as protagonists in these stories. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that despite its attempts to liven up the trope, a lot of the notes that director Steven Soderbergh and writer David Koepp hit in Presence are ones that are well trodden.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Presence’ Weaves a Very Familiar Ghost Story”
As long as Universal Pictures has been around, there have been monsters. Through the ages, the Universal Monsters have been terrifying audiences, making their way into the annals of cinematic history as icons.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Wolf Man’ is a Successful Reinvention of a Horror Icon”
It’s been almost 20 years since we last saw Wallace and Gromit in a feature-length adventure. In 2005’s Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the beloved duo found themselves in a Jekyll and Hyde-type send up of horror films. Now they return to face a robot apocalypse and a familiar villain in Vengeance Most Fowl.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Vengeance Most Fowl’ is ‘Wallace and Gromit’ at Their Most Charming”
The holiday season is one commonly associated with red, and this year, director Robert Eggers wants to ensure that your holidays are blood red. Eggers new vision of the legendary Nosferatu is finally hitting theaters on Christmas Day.
Continue reading “NOC Review: The Darkness Beckons You to Succumb to ‘Nosferatu’”
Mufasa: The Lion King brings a fresh perspective to the classic tale with stunning visuals that are a feast for the eyes. However, the movie doesn’t quite reach the emotional depth and originality of the predecessor.
Continue reading “Flawed ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Still Has What it Takes to Be King”
The first Moana was a journey of self-discovery for the title character (Auliʻi Cravalho) who teamed up with the awesome fishhook-wielding and shapeshifting and sometimes self-centered demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to restore the heart of Tefiti. Eight years later, audiences are reunited with the characters they love in Moana 2, a sequel that’s worthy of your time.
Continue reading “‘Moana 2’ is a Beautiful Sonic and Visual Feast”
I don’t care if this statement isn’t going to be… popular. Since we’re living in a time where more than half the country voted for an elected official/convicted felon trying to use people of color as a scapegoat to elevate his platform and retain the pitiful amount of “power” he has, I’d say a movie like Wicked could not come out at a better moment.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Wicked’ is the Movie We Need In These Wicked Times”
The world of cinema is a place of institutions: from mainstay studios, long-revered directors and infamous producers, there are certain people and systems that both uphold the standards of film but also restrict the possibility of what could expand the artistic palette of the space.
Continue reading “RaMell Ross’ Heartbreaking ‘Nickel Boys’ is a New Classic Slice of Black Americana”
We have a huge one for you today, everyone! With Dreamworks’ new animated classic, The Wild Robot debuting this week, the Oscar race for Best Animated Feature has never been tighter. A huge part of why this movie is a masterpiece boils down to the wonderful work of Academy Award winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, who brilliantly voices the titular “Wild Robot,” ROZZUM-7134 — aka “Roz.”
Continue reading “The Lovely Lupita Nyong’o on ‘The Wild Robot’ and the Power of Animation as Cinema”
Keegan-Michael Key is such a prolific voice actor. In just a few years, he’s done it all: Toy Story, Mario, The Lion King, Hotel Transylvania, and so much more. And now, he is setting his sights once again on another iconic franchise, with Transformers One.
Continue reading “The Un-Bee-lievable Keegan-Michael Key on ‘Transformers: One’”
Body horrors often tap into who we are and perceive ourselves to be as we watch the characters on screen change as they go through bodily transformations for the better or mutilations for the worse. The images that appear before us range from subtle to unsettling, yet, like most great horrors, are a powerful kind of social commentary with something to say.
Continue reading “‘A Different Man’ is Body Horror Comfortable In Its Own Skin”
It’s been 17 years since the first live-action Transformers movie by Michael Bay that kicked off a reintroduction to some legendary characters to a whole new generation of fans. But as entertaining as those films were, many fans of the original series were hoping for something a bit closer to the source material. Lo and behold, their prayers have been answered in the most unexpected way, in the form of Transformers: One: the best modern Transformers movie to date!
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Transformers One’ is the Most Epic and Mature ‘Transformers’ Film to Date “
This is not Blumhouse’s year. They’re 0 for 4 so far, with Night Swim, Imaginary, AfrAId, and now Speak No Evil. While the latest film from Blumhouse is easily the most watchable of their 2024 offerings, is “bland and forgettable” really the bar they want to set here? Maybe next year will be better.
Continue reading “NOC Review: It’s Easy to ‘Speak No Evil’ With a Movie So Forgettable”
Wow! Every year the Best Animated Feature race at the Oscars gets more and more difficult, and this year’s will definitely be a doozy. It’s hard to top a film like Inside Out 2. But I truly believe Dreamworks and writer/director Chris Sanders have managed to do just that with a beautiful, artistic triumph about love and parenthood called The Wild Robot.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘The Wild Robot’ is a Future Animated Classic for the Ages”
The moment the credits rolled on Joker: Folie à Deux, the tangible sound of stunned silence filled the theater. It wasn’t unexpected. Minutes before the film screened, we were told by director Todd Phillips that early screenings of the film ended with many saying they needed to process it. There’s so much to unpack from the sequel to the 2019 Oscar-winner, that such a reaction is completely warranted.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ is a Flawed Work of Fine Art”
Passion. When you think about the Tim Burton who did Beetlejuice in 1988 and the Burton who did Dumbo in 2019, that’s what separates the two. For a few decades, it looked like the former was lost for good. But after seeing Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, I’m pleased to say, thanks to the help of a delightfully devilish demon, the spark that once defined the director has been found once more!
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ is Burton Back at His Best”
It’s been a few days since I’ve seen J.T. Mollner’s Strange Darling, and I simply cannot get it out of my head. This is a twisted thriller that will leave a lasting impact on you for days to come, and in a cinematic landscape such as this, that’s a huge deal!
Continue reading “NOC Review: J.T. Mollner’s ‘Strange Darling’ is Tense, Twisted, and Terrific”
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of watching a very charming documentary about the man who became Superman to the world, Christopher Reeve. Now, you’ll get the opportunity to see this wonderful film for yourself, when Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story hits theaters September 21 and 25. Today, WB and DC have dropped the trailer for the touching film.
Continue reading “Trailer for ‘Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story’ Flies Online”
Few franchises in Hollywood have cultivated the longevity and legacy of Sir Ridley Scott’s Alien anthology.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Alien: Romulus’ is a Fine Addition to the ‘Alien’ Anthology”