Derrick Murray is a Los Angeles based stand up comedian, writer, and co-host for The Jack of All Nerds Show.
“One Battle After Another” is a masterpiece, the true movie moment of our time and one of the most important films to see as it arrives at the precise time it needs to. This timeless yet timely tale taps the raw nerve exposed in American politics and captures the hopelessness of fighting against institutions of power and the hopefulness of the neccesity of generational revolution.
From its opening shot, “It Was Just Accident” reveals itself to be worthy of the coveted Cannes Palm D’Or award. Something as a simple as a family on a dark Iranian road has never felt more enthralling, unsettling, and in control, something only a filmmaker as skilled and incisive as Jafar Panahi can pull off. And then the chaos starts, and we bear witness to an unrelenting pressure cooker, a gripping thriller with no easy answers, no easy characters, and no easy resolution. A complex, intense, and shockingly humorous film constructed with the most astute confidence and rage at an…
once the ominous atmosphere and chaotic gambling framework and high strung bright lights fade, “Ballad of a Small Player” has no hand left to play. It is at best a fun time spent with Farrell who is really going for it, but at worst it’s peak Netflix fodder fit for a lost in the shuffle queue search and almost completely overcome by the Netflix sheen that once again rears its ugly head.
Let’s get all of the disclosure out of the way so we can discuss this latest adaption of “Kiss of The Spider Woman” on its own merits. I have never read the original novel by Manuel Puig, nor have I seen the original film 1986 film adaption or seen the 1992 stage production. This latest iteration is my one and only version, so I have no frame of reference of anything that came before it and this review will be absent of commentary on what was changed and what was better or worse in any of the previous works. I…
There’s a collection of films that I’d count as a one and done, the kind that leave you so unnerved and unsettled that even if you walk away feeling like you’ve just watched a masterpiece you never want to sit through the experience again. “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” is that kind of experience, a near two our panic attack in film form that runs its viewers through a gamut of emotional turmoil and leaves you exhausted in the end. I’ll be honest, it took some reflection to come around on the film’s undeniable staying power. There’s nothing…
Safdie’s final product feels more self indulgent than self reflective, and approaches the material at arms length and a sort of meandering disinterest in his subject. At no point in “The Smashing Machine” does it feel like the director personally connects to his story or work, leaving the film to be a rather pedestrian sports biopic dressed up as an auteur’s vision.
“Eternity” is the perfect date night film, one you should see with the one you love, the one you can cherish now until the end and beyond. It will make you want to hold a lover close and remind you why you fell in love in the first place.
“Roofman” is a heartfelt showcase for Tatum and a light watch whose safe play and sticking to convention ends up serving as a compliment to its charm
As Boys II Men would say, we’ve come to the end of the road for our time at the Toronto International Film Festival. After nearly 90 films (yes, really) the wide array of films are still being processed in my over stimulated brain. An official Best Of list is still being compiled, as I will have to start digging through the very long Letterboxd log and really ordering the vast catalog. But as many of them are still fresh, I thought it would be fun to begin to at least start putting films into unique categories and recapping the overall…
“My Father’s Shadow” is a profound piece of cinema, a wondrous triumph and one of the best films of the year.
