FRANKLY SPEAKING

I rank the Best Picture nominees of the Oscar 2020 season!

In the Part 2 of this series, I look at Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren and Rey, and how this movie fundamentally flubs every single one of their arcs.

In this series, I explore where Rise of Skywalker suffers most - its characters. Part 1 focuses on the enormous, unfocused supporting cast.

Today I talk about Sem Mendes' 1917, and the broader role & effect of the modern war movie.

I talk about Little Women (2019) and Greta Gerwig's incredibly powerful and intimately lifelike characters.

I try my best to explain why I adore this fever-dream of a movie. It's confidently insane, and that's hypnotically endearing to me.

Return of the Jedi is a great, fun entry into the Star Wars universe, but does it really function as the final part of a trilogy?

This week, we explore how Empire Strikes Back mastered the art of being a sequel so well that it became the benchmark of a generation.

Begin exploring the trilogy format through the lens of the original Star Wars trilogy. Today we start with A New Hope, a satisfying story.

Rian Jonson delivers a fantastic, compelling murder mystery that never loses your interest - but has even more brewing below the surface.

Ford v Ferrari is a visceral, heart-pounding ride the blends high-stakes action with deep-hearted storytelling.

Jojo Rabbit nails this perfect balance between hilarity and striking humanity, and that's the sort of thing I adore.

Joker is a deeply problematic movie that tries to be transgressive but ends up just feeling tone-deaf and boring.

Ad Astra goes to the stars with a surprisingly understated and nuanced look into its themes and protagonist, despite genre expectations.

Do political themes belong in our popular movies? The real question is: what would our movies be without those themes?

The X-Men finale burns up on entry, now we wait to see if the once-beloved franchise finds new life under Disney.

Why I Adore the A-Team: The heart and soul that makes this movie tick, and elevates it above the typical action fare.

How structure paves the way for creativity.

"This movie isn't about Lord of the Rings, so much as it's about what Lord of the Rings is about."

A discussion of inconsistency and its long-lastng effects