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Movie Review: MAY DECEMBER

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN | 12/01/2023
MAY DECEMBER movie poster | ©2023 Netflix

Rating: R Stars: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton, Cory Michael Smith, D.W. Moffett, Elizabeth Yu, Gabriel Chung Writer: Samy Burch Director: Todd Haynes Distributor: Netflix Release Date: December 1, 2023 (theatrical and Netflix) MAY DECEMBER’s end credits include the standard disclaimer about any resemblance to real persons being a coincidence. That seems a bit of a stretch here, as the overall premise appears to be based on the case of Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau. Letourneau was convicted of raping Fualaau when she was age thirty-four and he was twelve or thirteen, her student in the sixth grade. […]Read On »


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Movie Review: EILEEN

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN |
EILEEN movie poster | ©2023 Neon

Rating: R Stars: Thomasin McKenzie, Anne Hathaway, Shea Whigham, Sam Nivola, Marin Ireland, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Tonya Patano Writers: Luke Goebel & Ottessa Moshfegh, based on the novel by Ottessa Moshfegh Director: William Oldroyd Distributor: Neon Release Date: December 1, 2023 EILEEN is a thriller that threatens explosions at every turn. However, when things finally go crazy, it’s in a way that has been set up well, but that we don’t see coming. We’re in a working-class town in mid-1960s Massachusetts. Our title character, Eileen Dunlop (Thomasin McKenzie), is a young woman who spends her days doing clerical work at […]Read On »


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Movie Review: WISH

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN | 11/22/2023
WISH movie poster | ©2023 Walt Disney Pictures

Rating: PG Stars (voices): Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk, Angelique Cabral, Victor Garber, Natasha Rothwell, Jennifer Kumiyama, Harvey Guillén, Niko Vargas, Evan Peters Writers: Jennifer Lee & Allison Moore, story by Jennifer Lee & Chris Buck & Fawn Veerasunthorn & Allison Moore, additional story material by Carlos López Estrada & Andrew Rothschild Directors: Chris Buck & Fawn Veerasunthorn Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures Release Date: November 22, 2023 WISH is a movie that looks like it was made before its makers fully finalized exactly what they intended to do. It has a worthwhile metaphoric message, strong vocal performances, and occasional […]Read On »


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Movie Review: NAPOLEON

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN |
NAPOLEON movie poster | ©2023 Columbia Pictures/Apple Studios

Rating: R Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Rupert Everett, Tahar Rahim, Paul Rhys, Eduoard Philipponnat, Anna Mawn, Marshall Needham, Sinéad Cusack Writer: David Scarpa Director: Ridley Scott Distributor: Columbia Pictures/Apple Studios Release Date: November 22, 2023 NAPOLEON is a historical biographical drama that has a curious effect. At two hours and thirty-eight minutes, it is seldom dull, but it’s also rarely moving. It is informative, with important dates and events provided in titles, but it also comes off as lopsided. The screenplay by David Scarpa, the direction by Ridley Scott, and the performance in the title role by Joaquin Phoenix […]Read On »


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Movie Review: TROLLS BAND TOGETHER

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN | 11/17/2023
TROLLS BAND TOGETHER movie poster | ©2023 Universal Pictures/DreamWorks

Rating: PG Stars (voices): Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Kenan Thompson, Zooey Deschanel, Andrew Rannells, Amy Schumer, Daveed Diggs, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Zosia Mamet, Eric André, Camila Cabello, Kid Cudi, Troye Sivan Writer: Elizabeth Tippet, based on the Good Luck Trolls created by Thomas Dam Director: Walt Dohrn, co-director, Tim Heitz Distributor: Universal Pictures Release Date: November 17, 2023 TROLLS BAND TOGETHER is the third installment in the brightly-colored, trippy animated TROLLS franchise. Trolls come in all hues, and a few sizes, though most appear to be about the size of a human hand, not counting their voluminous hair. Most trolls also […]Read On »


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Movie Review: SALTBURN

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN |
SALTBURN movie poster | ©2023 MGM

Rating: R Stars: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Archie Madekwe, Alison Oliver, Richard E. Grant, Rosamund Pike, Carey Mulligan, Ewan Mitchell, Paul Rhys Writer: Emerald Fennell Director: Emerald Fennell Distributor: MGM/Amazon Studios Release Date: November 17, 2023 SALTBURN is reminiscent of – oh, dear, can’t say that, might give the game away. So, how to describe it? Writer/director Emerald Fennell has crafted a very English thriller, full of issues of class, identity, and sexual desire, that is impressively perverse. This perversity is partly in the personalities of its characters, and markedly in their erotic proclivities. (This reviewer isn’t sure she’s ever […]Read On »


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Movie Review: THE MARVELS

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN | 11/10/2023
THE_MARVELS movie poster | © 2023 Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Studios

Rating: PG-13 Stars: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Samuel L. Jackson, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park Seo-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh Writers: Nia DaCosta and Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik, based on the Marvel Comics Director: Nia DaCosta Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Studios Release Date: November 10, 2023 THE MARVELS, the latest feature film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, isn’t marvelous, but it’s agreeable. It feels a lot like spending time with old and new friends, if you all had to save the universe. That’s okay, you’ve all done it before. While not strictly necessary, it is […]Read On »


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Movie Review: IT’S A WONDERFUL KNIFE

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN |
IT'S A WONDERFUL KNIFE movie poster | ©2023 RLJE Films/Shudder

Rating: R Stars: Jane Widdop, Jess McLeod, Joel McHale, Katharine Isabelle, William B. Davis, Justin Long, Aiden Howard, Erin Boyes, Sean Depner, Zenia Marshall, Jason Fernandes, Hana Huggins, Cassandra Naud Writer: Michael Kennedy Director: Tyler MacIntyre Distributor: RLJE Films/Shudder Release Date: November 10, 2023 (theatrical) What if the celebrated 1946 Christmas film IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE were also SCREAM? That’s not as impossible a mashup as it perhaps sounds. IT’S A WONDERFUL KNIFE proves the point. In IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (for those who need a refresher), despondent Bedford Falls resident George Bailey (James Stewart) wishes he’d never been born. […]Read On »


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Movie Review: PROJECT Z (PROSJECT Z)

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN | 11/03/2023
PROJECT Z (PROSJECT Z) movie poster | ©2023 Dark Sky Films

Rating: Not Rated Stars: Eili Harboe, Regina Myra Tucker, Jonis Josef, Vebjørn Enger, Iben Akerlie, Arthur Berning, Dennis Storhøi, Alexandra Gjerpen, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Ole Christoffer Ertvaag, Laila Goody Writer: Henrik M. Dahlsbakken Director: Henrik M. Dahlsbakken Distributor: Dark Star Pictures Release Date: November 3, 2023 Making movies about making movies is a tricky proposition. Examples of the highs that can be reached when this is done right include THIS IS SPINAL TAP and THE FABELMANS. Examples of what happens when such highs are not reached include PROJECT Z (PROSJECT Z). To be clear, PROJECT Z is far from […]Read On »


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Movie Review: HELL HOUSE LLC ORIGINS: THE CARMICHAEL MANOR

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN | 10/31/2023
HELL HOUSE LLC ORIGINS: THE CARMICHAEL MANOR | ©2023 Shudder / Terror Releasing

Rating: Not Rated Stars: Bridget Rose Perrotta, Destiny Brown, James Liddell, Gideon Berger, Cayla Berejikian, Victoria Andrunik, Darren F. Earl II, Searra Sawka Writer: Stephen Cognetti Director: Stephen Cognetti Distributor: Shudder/Terror Releasing Release Date: October 31, 2023 HELL HOUSE LLC ORIGINS: THE CARMICHAEL MANOR is the fourth film in writer/director Stephen Cognetti’s found-footage horror HELL HOUSE franchise. For those (like this reviewer) coming into a HELL HOUSE for the first time (excluding the unrelated 1972 THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE), there are enough references to previous entries to suggest we’re missing some plot points. The good news is that CARMICHAEL […]Read On »


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