To clarify, these are not who I want to win but who I think will win. I base this on the Academy’s trends, its susceptibility to borderline bribery, and the general voting system while keeping my personal preferences at bay. Some categories I skipped because I didn’t have time to see the nominees. The 95th Academy Awards will be presented…
Category: Movie Reviews
Drew’s Reviews: OSCAR SHORTS – LIVE ACTION 2023
By Andrew Jenck IVALU Although featuring some nice cinematography and solid hook of childhood trauma, Ivalu can feel too repetitive in its narrative beats and not best utilizing its limited runtime as much as the others. The direction is competent, showing its themes unrelenting, and child actress Mila Heilmann Kreutzmann is spot on with her facial expressions. However, the script…
Drew’s Reviews: BEST MOVIES OF 2022
By Andrew Jenck Disclaimer: This list comprises the best films that I viewed. If I were to watch every acclaimed film last year, then this list would come out in February. I plan on covering them later in addition to giving proper reviews to some of these entries. For now, let’s wrap up 2022 starting with: 10. AVATAR: THE WAY…
Drew’s Reviews: AVATAR – THE WAY OF WATER
By Andrew Jenck Over a decade in the making, James Cameron’s follow-up to the highest grossing film comes with lofty expectations. Production stalled not for story reasons, but the technology needed to be developed to bring the auteur’s vision to life. Applying the same environmental themes to the oceans as the original to forests, The Way of Water tackles one…
Drew’s Reviews: DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
By Andrew Jenck Passion projects are a rarity in the film industry, as they may be unconventional films requiring greater production needs and investors may be wary to take such a risk. Guillermo del Toro’s (GDT) Pinocchio is no exception, having been conceived in 2008 as a stop-motion film, with only Netflix willing to distribute before the current financially conservative…
Drew’s Reviews: BLACK PANTHER – WAKANDA FOREVER
By Andrew Jenck No matter the insight, reviews are essentially opinions of the author, ones that can change over time. As such, I find my initial thoughts of the original Black Panther, although positive, a bit too dismissive of the themes it presented and lacked awareness of the cultural significance. Not just for having a majority African-decent cast. but one…
Drew’s Reviews: HALLOWEEN ENDS
By Andrew Jenck Disclaimer: This review covers material and plot synopsis not referenced in the marketing prior to release, so anything discussed could be seen as a spoiler. No revelations or twists are revealed, but for anyone who wants to be fully surprised, may just want to read the introduction. Halloween Ends had a difficult task: conclude Laurie Strode’s and…
Drew’s Editorials: TO INFINITY AND SOMEWHERE …
By Andrew Jenck This month gave us D23, a convention by the Walt Disney Company revealing various film, television, and theme park projects. While many were anticipating new Marvel and Star Wars news, I was interested in Pixar, particularly its release strategy. After releasing three consecutive films to Disney+, Lightyear saw Pixar’s return to theaters only to become a rare…
Drew’s Reviews: NOPE
By Andrew Jenck Jordan Peele has emerged as an interesting auteur in the past five years, demonstrating a directorial style of his own while not necessarily being too far removed from his comedic work. His films maintain quirks but still follow the same set up you would find from his Key & Peele days, just this time in the context…
Drew’s Reviews: ELVIS
By Andrew Jenck A common challenge with biopics is condensing the public figure’s entire life in two hours. Although cut short, Elvis Presley’s life was complicated and messy, so a film adaption needs some sort of anchor to build the script around and create something meaningful. Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis does this, to some extent, by placing the Colonel as the…
