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The Kitchen Review: If You Can’t Stand the Mediocrity…

Jason Gorber — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 16:00:05 +0000

It gives no pleasure to convey how middling The Kitchen is. The film just lays there limp and lifeless, trying desperately to inject some interest for the audience. Its dullness is almost impressive, as if it would be harder to make a film this meandering than to take the genre elements, throw in some action...

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Us Review: Get Out to See This

Deirdre Crimmins — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 17:00:54 +0000

Jordan Peele set his own bar incredibly high with his directorial debut, Get Out. Though thematically a big departure, Us shows that Peele’s strong voice as a terror craftsman is not just limited to one category of horror film. Us begins with the past. In 1986 Santa Cruz, just before Hands Across America, a family...

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‘The Square’ Review: In Search of a Safe Space

Philip Brown — Fri, 24 Nov 2017 16:00:23 +0000

Ruben Östlund proved in his last film, ‘Force Majeure‘, that he takes his awkward comedy very seriously. His Cannes Palme d’Or winning follow-up, ‘The Square’, proves that impulse is only strengthening. The 2.5-hour episodic epic is a comedy for lack of any other term, but within its cringeworthy giggles lies a movie of great ambition...

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TIFF Journal: ‘The Square’

Philip Brown — Fri, 08 Sep 2017 17:00:29 +0000

The surprise Palme d’Or winner at Cannes, ‘The Square’ marks the return of queasy art comedy specialist Ruben Östlund following his 2014 breakout success ‘Force Majeure’. Östlund’s latest is a 2.5-hour epic about humiliation, the pomposity of the art world, the illusion of safety, miscommunication, and all the little social contracts we make that tear...

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‘Chuck’ (2017) Review: Real Rocky’s Rockier Road

Philip Brown — Fri, 26 May 2017 16:00:10 +0000

Countless hard luck boxing dramas have been released since ‘Rocky’ and most aren’t worth the pain of suffering through. ‘Chuck’ is the latest and thankfully proves to be an exception to the rule. The reason? Well, it’s about Chuck Wepner, the man that Stallone allegedly based ‘Rocky’ on, and it’s as much about the awkward...

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TIFF Journal: ‘The Bleeder’

Philip Brown — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 16:00:36 +0000

Hey, you know those movies about boxers whose lives are just as tumultuous outside the ring as they are within? ‘The Bleeder’ is one of those. It’s even based on a true story to theoretically maximize the hanky-soaking, teary-eyed potential of the piece. However, this one is thankfully far more entertaining than most movies of...

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‘High-Rise’ Review: Twisted Anarchy

Philip Brown — Wed, 18 May 2016 19:00:10 +0000

J.G. Ballard’s disturbing dystopic novel ‘High-Rise’ almost made it to the screen a few times since the cult favorite hit stands in the 1970s. Despite having filmmakers like Nicolas Roeg behind the project, nothing ever came to fruition, and given the difficulty of the subject matter it’s easy to see why. Thankfully, the book finally...

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‘Truth’ Review: Not Better Than Fiction

Philip Brown — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 19:00:00 +0000

As the laughably unsubtle title suggests, ‘Truth’ is a movie that strives to be something big and important about big and important subjects that we should all gaze upon in jaw-gaping awe. Indeed, the subject matter is rather important and based on a (wait for it) true story, but it’s presented in such a nauseatingly...

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TIFF Journal: ‘High-Rise’

Philip Brown — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 18:00:02 +0000

In only a handful of movies, director Ben Wheatley has established himself as one of the most fascinating and unpredictable filmmakers working today. Titles like ‘Kill List’, ‘Sightseers’, and ‘A Field in England’ offer wildly different cinematic experiences that share only the director’s distinct voice. His latest feature ‘High-Rise’ is his first adapted from a...

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‘The One I Love’ Review: Mumble-Horror

Philip Brown — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 15:00:06 +0000

Mixing together conventions of the quirky indie broken romance with ‘Twilight Zone’-style conceptual horror, ‘The One I Love’ is if nothing else a unique film. It opens by feeling like a movie you’ve seen a thousand times before, mutates into something you’ve never seen before, and then devolves into something you’ve only seen about a...

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‘Mad Men’ 4.04 Recap: Pegged

Drew Taylor — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:00:41 +0000

One of the most interesting things about ‘Mad Men,’ right from the very beginning, has been the way that – even though the show dwells in the world of good ol’ boys, clueless gents and back-slapping fraternizing – the most compelling, sophisticated, and articulate characters have been the women. From Betty to Joan and everyone...

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‘Mad Men’ 4.01 Recap: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Drew Taylor — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:00:02 +0000

Welcome to a brand new television recap here on the Bonus View. That’s right – AMC’s critically acclaimed ‘Mad Men,’ hosted by yours truly, the guy who does the weekend box office report. That tingling sensation you’re feeling right now is excitement! Or possibly jock itch. Either way, please pull up a chair and let...

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