Catching Up on 2016: Josh Reviews The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years is a new documentary by Ron Howard, focusing on The Beatles’ whirlwind years spent touring all over the globe between 1962 and 1966. I’m a huge Beatles fan, so I was immediately interested in this film, even as I w
Days of De Palma (Part 20): De Palma (2015)
I feel like Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow’s documentary De Palma was made just for me. As I was finishing my lengthy “Days of De Palma” project of watching all of the films directed by Brian De Palma, I learned of the existence of this documentary. Oh my god! Ho
Catching Up on 2016: Josh Reviews The Neon Demon
In Nicolas Winding Refn’s film The Neon Demon, Elle Fanning stars as Jesse, a sixteen year-old pretending she’s nineteen, looking to make it as a model in Los Angeles. Jesse’s beauty renders all of the men around her smitten and all of the women around her jealous.
Josh Reviews Logan
It’s hard to believe that Hugh Jackman has been playing the character of Wolverine for almost twenty years now. Mr. Jackman’s casting was one of the many minor miracles that made Bryan Singer’s original X-Men film from 2000 such a wonderful revelation. It’s
Catching Up on 2016: Deadpool
I skipped Deadpool when it was released in theatres earlier this year. I was impressed that Ryan Reynolds had gotten his passion project made, and super-impressed that Fox had the guts to release an R-rated superhero film (and, even more, one that was directly connected to their X-M
Josh Reviews Lion
The film Lion begins in 1986. In a poor area of Khandwa, India, a young boy Saroo lives with his mother, younger sister, and older brother Guddu. One evening when their mother goes to work, young Saroo prevails upon Guddu to allow him to accompany him to a train station where Gudd
Josh Reviews Moonlight
In Barry Jenkins’ riveting, heartbreaking film Moonlight, we follow the journey from childhood to manhood of a gay, African-American boy Chiron. The film presents Chrion’s story in three parts. At first, we meet Chiron as a quiet, lonely boy who is bullied by his peers
Catching Up on 2016: Josh Reviews Hell or High Water
In David Mackenzie’s film Hell or High Water, Chris Pine and Ben Foster star as brothers robbing small banks across Texas, while Jeff Bridges plays the Texas Ranger determined to catch them. The film explores the poverty rampant across Texas (and so much of the U.S. these days
Josh Reviews Live by Night
I first became a fan of Ben Affleck from his work in Kevin Smith’s early nineties films, and in particular his so-funny, good-natured participation in the DVD commentary tracks for Mallrats and Chasing Amy (which are, seriously, among the greatest commentary tracks ever recorded
Josh Reviews Hidden Figures
Hidden Figures, based on the recent book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly, tells the true story of three pioneering African-American women: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. These three remarkable women worked for NASA in the 1960’s and beyond. Ka