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Ready Player One Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, and Ben Mendelsohn Directed By Steven Speilberg US Release Date: March 29th, 2018 My First Viewing: March 21st, 2018 image credit: movieposter.com If you ever wondered what it would be like to see a futuristic sci-fi action film deep with 1980's nostalgia, Steven Spielberg presents Ready Player One, based on the 2011 Ernest Cline novel starring Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, and Ben Mendelsohn.  Set in the year 2045 in Columbus, Ohio, Wade Watts (Sheridan) is your average kid who, like many, escapes reality into the virtual world known as The Oasis and becomes Parzival. In the Oasis, you can essentially do anything, be anyone, and interact with people around the world. The more coin you have, your experiences in the Oasis can be just that much more enjoyable. When one of the creators of the Oasis passes away, he creates a scavenger hunt inside the Oasis to find three keys to unlock the Easter Egg, and gain control ...

A Wrinkle in Time Starring: Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, and Reese Witherspoon Directed By Ava DuVernay  US Release Date: March 9th, 2018 My First Viewing: March 10th, 2018 image credit: movieposter.com The ideas of space and time get turned on their head's in Ava DuVernay's A Wrinkle in Time, based on the 1962 beloved novel written by Madeleine L'Engle.  After a time travel experiment causes scientist Mr. Murray (Chris Pine) to go missing for several years, his daughter Meg (Storm Reid), her adopted brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and school friend Calvin (Levi Miller) go on a quest to find him and bring him home. Joining them on this journey are three magical beings, Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling), and Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon).  Looking at this as an adult watching a film geared towards kids, and knowing nothing about the source material, I was left asking a lot of questions. What was the purpose of the Calvin character...

The Strangers: Prey at Night Starring: Bailee Madison and Christina Hendricks Directed by Johannes Roberts US Release Date: March 9th, 2018 My First Viewing: March 8th, 2018 image credit: imdb.com Ten years after the release of The Strangers  (starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman), The Man in the Mask, Dollface, and Pin-Up Girl are back in The Strangers: Prey at Night.  In an unknown timeframe after the events of the first Strangers, we see at the beginning of the film picking off an older couple. While making a trip to drop their daughter off at boarding school, Cindy (Christina Hendricks), Mike (Martin Henderson), and their kids Kinsey (Bailee Madison) and Luke (Lewis Pullman) stop by a family members trailer park, where they are soon terrorized by the three masked murderers. The reason the trio is going after them, much like in the first film, was because they were there. There are some fun callbacks to the first film, and some of the scares were earne...

Thoroughbreds Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke Written and Directed by Cory Finley US Release Date: March 9th, 2018 My First Viewing: March 7th, 2018 Making his feature-length debut, writer/director Corey Finley poses the question "what lengths would to in order to get rid of something that you hate." In the case of Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy, Split ) and Amanda (Olivia Cooke, Me, Earl & the Dying Girl), that problem they want to get rid of is Lily's stepfather.  Reuniting after a falling out that involved Amanda killing her horse, upper-class polar opposites Lily and Amanda serve as foils and sounding boards, trying to get a sense of emotion and understanding out of each other. For Amanda, she has an emotionless streak that she chalks up to as some sort of mental disorder du jour, and for Lily, it is being able to emote and show and vocalize her frustration toward her stepfather (Paul Sparks, House of Cards ). As the movie progresses, they end up takin...

In the Fade (Aus dem Nichts) Starring: Diane Kruger and Denis Moschitto Directed by Faith Akin US Release Date: December 27, 2017 My First Viewing: March 6, 2018 image credit: imdb.com Winner of the Golden Globe and Critic's Choice Award for Best Foreign Language film, In the Fade German actress Diane Kruger in her first German-language film.  Kruger (who won Best Actress at Cannes for this role) plays Katja, a wife and mother who loses her husband and child after an explosion at his work. Broken up into three sections (The Family, Justice, and The Sea), we follow Katja's journey from a solemn widow to justice seeker. Kruger shines in the starring role, where you feel her pain through the screen. You feel invested in her as a character and her motivations.  Some may question how a film that won so many awards leading up to The Oscars ended up being snubbed without a nomination for Best Foreign Language film. While I found the first two-thirds riveting and heartwre...

Call Me by Your Name Starring: Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet Directed by Luca Guadagnino US Release Date: November 24, 2017 Most Recent Viewing: March 3, 2018 Image Credit: movieposter.com Nominated for four Academy Awards (including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture), Call Me by Your Name is directed by Luca Guadagnino, and is based on the novel by Andrée Acimen.  Set in Northern Italy in the Summer of 1983, 17-year-old Elio (Best Actor nominee Timothée Chalamet) spends his days transcribing music and hanging out with his friends and family (Michael Stuhlbarg and Amira Casar playing Elio's parents). When doctoral student Oliver (Armie Hammer) comes to work with Elio's father, the relationship between Oliver and Elio goes from curiosity to wonder to love in the matter on months.  This is a beautiful film that is as warm and raw as it is visually stunning. Everyone has a story of their first love, and sometimes it is more complicated than others. Y...

Get Out Starring: Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams Written and Directed by Jordan Peele US Release Date: February 24, 2017 Most Recent Viewing: March 3, 2018 Image Credit: movieposter.com Nominated for four Academy Awards (including Best Actor and Best Picture), Get Out is the directorial debut of Key & Peele star Jordan Peele, who also produced and wrote the screenplay.  Part horror-thriller, part social commentary on race in our society, Get Out  tells the story of the relationship between Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and Rose (Allison Williams), and their dynamic when Rose brings Chris to meet her family for the first time. Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener, and Caleb Landry Jones play Rose's parents and siblings.  This is so much more than your standard horror fare, and I am so happy that the Academy honored this film with as many nominations as it did. Blumhouse Productions, who have their hands in many of the big horror franchises on the last decade p...