Sam's Review Club

©2017 Twentieth Century Fox If you think Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a mouthful of a title, try being one of the residents in Ebbing, Missouri. A simple act of defiance from the venom-spitting Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand, in a role that begs for an Oscar) becomes a state-wide phenomenon whose desire for vengeance is one that will leave many wounded as deeply as she. Billboards is more than just an intimate character study, it is an example of how to build narratives, create winning chemistry, and tinge even the darkest of stories with humor. Seven months prior to the beginning of Billboards , Mildred’s world was turned upside down when her daughter Angela was raped and burned alive by her assailant. With no leads and a seemingly stalled case, Mildred rents three abandoned billboards outside her home just outside the town of Ebbing, Missouri. In order they read: RAPED WHILE DYING; AND STILL NO ARRESTS; and HOW COME, CHIEF WILLOUGHBY? They go unnoticed...

©2017 Twentieth Century Fox 2017 was a weird year: Donald Trump was sworn in as president, a Spongebob Squarepants musical was made (and was shockingly good), and Guillermo Del Toro’s woman-loves-fish fantasy epic became undoubtedly the most beautiful film of the year. After seeing The Shape of Water , I immediately kicked myself for not being familiar with director Guillermo Del Toro’s filmography. His lush and over-the-top romantic fantasy is everything storytelling should be: fantastic, unpredictable, and succinct. Much praise will be heaped on the creative team for building Del Toro’s vision, but the real star is Doug Jones who turns a non-verbal role where he is covered in slimy scales into the emotional core of this love story. Elisa Esposito (a revelatory Sally Hawkins) lives her life by the clock. She wakes, boils an egg, masturbates, and heads off to work. The mute woman, who works as a janitor at a U.S. research facility, constantly escapes into the perfect wo...

©2017 - NEON As Margot Robbie drawls in the final moments of I, Tonya : “America wants someone to love, but they also want someone to hate.” Tonya Harding exemplifies both the best and the worst qualities of an All-American athlete. Her career, filled with some of the highest highs for any American figure skater, was short-lived thanks to the infamous knee-capping of Nancy Kerrigan, America’s figure skating sweetheart, prior to the 1994 Olympic Games. She is the perfect fodder for a biopic. But I, Tonya does more than just humanize someone who has become a symbol for villainous and conniving athletes. This film reimagines the way biopics should be presented. According to captions before the movie begins, I, Tonya is based on a series of conflicting interviews between Tonya Harding (an electrifying Margot Robbie in a performance bound to reshape her career) and her now-ex-husband Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan, who serves as a worthy sparring partner). Consequently the rest ...

Photo by Disney/Pixar - ©2017 Disney/Pixar Sandwiched between two sequels ( Finding Dory and Cars 3 ) and another two sequels ( Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4 ) is a beautiful reassurance that Pixar has not lost the magic that put them on the map in 1995. Coco is a fast-paced, exciting, and emotionally draining animated epic worthy of any awards for which it is eligible. Pixar founded itself on the promise to avoid several common Disney tropes: no songs, no “I want” moments, no happy village, no love story. Love stories are once again absent but Coco ’s plot is simultaneously the most- and least-Pixar film yet. Songs, “I want” moments, and a large family which may as well be a happy village are riddled throughout. Moving away from the norm, however, proves a gamble that pays off. Miguel's family will stop at nothing to keep him away from music. ©2017 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved. Miguel Rivera (an adorable Anthony Gonzalez) wants nothing more than to be a...

Photo by A24 ©2017 I was in high school when one of my best friends showed me a clip from what he called “the worst movie ever.” I found this a hyperbolic label but I watched the clip nonetheless. “Worst movie ever” didn’t even begin to describe the train wreck I witnessed. The most awkward, scraggly-haired man with the oddest accent stumbled into a flower shop and purchased a bouquet from a clearly disinterested shop clerk. None of their words synced with their mouths, there was no continuity in the shots, and the dialogue was uninspired. The film in question was The Room . The man was Tommy Wiseau. He had written, directed, and starred in this complete bomb and championed its release. Rationally, I knew what I was watching was terrible. It nevertheless filled me with such joy and did what many scenes struggle to do: entertained. Similar stories open The Disaster Artist , the James Franco-helmed exploration of the making of Wiseau’s now-heralded “masterpiece.” Krist...

©2017 - Focus Features Studios tend to pack their end of the year distribution schedules with one of two types of films: moody arthouse flicks that have been beloved at festivals or intimate character studies that serve as Oscar fodder for their actors. Darkest Hour , the new take on Winston Churchill’s ascent to the Prime Ministership, is the latter. Gary Oldman is a revelation as Churchill but, while the rest of the cast tries hard, the movie around him never reaches the same astronomical heights. If you are unfamiliar with Churchill’s first month in office, Hitler is advancing on Western Europe. Nazi forces are laying siege to British allies like France and Belgium. After unsuccessful attempts to fight back and/or broker peace agreements, Wilton Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) is kicked out of office by a frustrated parliament. Begrudgingly, King George VI (a serviceable, but not spectacular, Ben Mendelsohn) offers the position to Churchill. For someone who is hailed as “the ...

©2017. Property of Sony Pictures Entertainment My eyes rolled so far they risked falling out the back of my head when I saw the first trailer for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (JWJ)  a year ago. Who asked for a sequel to the 1995 cult classic film featuring Robin Williams at some of his most zany and memorable? And who thought Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would make a good successor to the late Williams? Whoever had the crazy idea for this reboot should be commended. Surprisingly, JWJ is a fresh, inventive, and well-written blockbuster. Much like the original film, JWJ begins in 1996 with a naïve father bringing home a board game he found washed up on the beach for his son, Alex. Because board games are so passé, Alex shrugs off the game until he hears drums in the middle of the night. Upon examination, the board has replaced itself with a video game cartridge. Just as Robin Williams did two decades ago, Alex disappears into the game never to be seen again. Flash for...

It is refreshing that, ever since the success of Moulin Rouge, the movie musical has been more and more popular over time. The Greatest Showman is certainly a fun film but never reaches the same dramatic heights as many of its predecessors. Some might consider this a bad thing. Showman , however, clearly doesn’t care. Much like P.T. Barnum, this film is concerned with pure entertainment above all else. The Greatest Showman is a straightforward rags-to-riches story about P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman), the man who pioneered the circus and, in many ways, modern entertainment. Along the way, he finds a business partner in playwright Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron), whose character is a composite of multiple historical figures—most notably James Anthony Bailey (of Barnum & Bailey fame). Barnum’s dutiful wife, Charity (a surprisingly refreshing Michelle Williams) stays at his side through the highs and lows and, with the film leaning into the cliché, serves as a moral compass througho...