Police violence, or the threat of it, against unarmed black folks has been depicted in many films this decade: Fruitvale Station, Widows, Detroit (as a clear present-past resonance), The Hate U Give, Get Out and more. Of course, you could argue this wave of depiction is quite late. Police violence in its current form is […]
Category Archives: Written Reviews
‘Ford v Ferrari’ is Actually a Tale of Goliath Fighting Himself
It’s been an unkind autumn to 50-year-old movie stars hoping to galvanize audiences by making ‘em like they no longer make ‘em, brother. Even in the year of Our Lord Brad Pitt, Ad Astra didn’t exactly burn down the house. With its cloning idea from 1998 literally and figuratively, Gemini Man was a financial disaster […]
‘Yesterday’ Isn’t Half The Film It Wants To Be
If you’re walking into a movie in which the global power grid blips and the entire world—save one man—forgets The Beatles ever existed, ready yourself for cornballery. That’s not to mention the presence of Love Actually and Notting Hill scribe Richard Curtis, the Fab Four’s poppiest fare, and Lily James ranking among the world’s cutest […]
‘Pet Sematary’: The Best Thing About Your Movie Shouldn’t Be A Zombie Cat
At this point in horror-movie history — hell, in American history — trace elements of Stephen King linger in every breath. In 2019, the setup to one of his film adaptations feels as familiar in our cinematic language as a vanload of horny teens headed to a remote cabin, or a group of misfit baseball […]
Don’t Hurt Yourself: ‘Us’ Challenges, Rewards What You Want From a ‘Get Out’ Follow-Up
Two years in the rear view and seemingly not one day undiscussed, Get Out was driven by a paradox — a paradox that fueled its status as a box office, film essay, theatrical experience, awards season, memeified phenomenon. Jordan Peele’s 2017 directorial debut was packed with meaning and symbolism that was also really only interpretable […]
Be Reel’s Favorite Films of 2018
Dear listeners, As 2018 is nearly gone, we’re here with our top 10 favorite films of the year. Consider this our year-end episode substitute: you might even find a squabble or two in the lists below. Overall, it’s been a good year for movies and our podcast alike. If you didn’t hear the big news, […]
Bigger, Not Better: A Predator’s Tale
I remember a time, not so long ago, when we were all united. The inferno-orange poster for The Predator was revealed. No one yet knew that Shane Black had hired a sex offender for a brief role in his new film. The world simply saw a film starring Sterling K. Brown, Trevante Rhodes, and Keegan […]
“BlacKkKlansman”: Man vs. Meaning
Gone With The Wind. D.W. Griffith. A cop thriller mixed with a cop brutality drama. The Holocaust. The political institutionalization of rightwing reactionaries. Charlottesville. Donald J. Trump. Split consciousness. Passing in America. “He’s trying to do too much,” many-a reasonable viewer could say of Spike Lee and his new film BlacKkKlansman. But Spike Lee doesn’t […]
A Lost Weekend at “Hotel Artemis”
If every summer needs its Atomic Blonde — that stylish, violent, well-cast, over-stimulated, completely ludicrous and inessential action film — well, welcome to Hotel Artemis. Written and directed by Iron Man 3 co-scribe Drew Pearce, it’s a beautifully simple movie to pitch: in a dystopic Los Angeles of the near future, a half-dozen criminals spend a tense […]
“A Wrinkle In Time”
At my screening of A Wrinkle In Time this week, Ava DuVernay appeared in a clip beforehand to offer a couple words. It was a fairly standard intro. DuVernay asserted her intention in adapting this 1962 YA novel for Disney was to return to a place of childhood wonderment circa age 11 or 12. But then she […]