18 December
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LICORICE PIZZA Writer/Director: Paul Thomas AndersonStarring: Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn, Benny Safdie, Christine Ebersole, Maya Rudolph Paul Thomas Anderson’s films aren’t for everyone. They strike a chord to varying degrees depending on the ride you want to go on and whether you want to film to make complete sense or just be a frothy silly ride of being something different. His new film Licorice Pizza is on the lighter and goofier end of his work. Cooper Hoffman makes his film debut here as Gary, a child actor who sees himself much older and wiser than he actually is at the ageRead More →

17 December
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DON’T LOOK UP Writer/Director: Adam McKayStarring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, Jonah Hill, Ariana Grande, Mark Rylance, Timothée Chalamet, Scott Mescudi Leo, Meryl, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Ariana Grande all in the same movie? Writer/director Adam McKay is bringing all these forces together for his star-studded satire Don’t Look Up. The poster says that its based on truly possible events as Adam McKay uses the climate change crisis as the mirror for this story. Jennifer Lawrence stars as Kate an astronomy grad student who believes a comet is barreling toward Earth. She informs her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (DiCaprio) andRead More →

16 December
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SWAN SONG Director: Benjamin ClearyStarring: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Glenn Close, Awkwafina, Adam Beach The concept of cloning lays at the heart of Swan Song which features two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali. If you knew your time on Earth was limited, how would you spend your days and how would you protect your family? Those are the struggles Mahershala Ali is facing as Cameron. He’s been diagnosed with a terminal cancer, but he doesn’t want his illness and death to be burden for his family. He’s a doting husband who’s expecting his second child with wife, Poppy. It’s set in the near future at aRead More →

16 December
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NIGHTMARE ALLEY Director: Guillermo del ToroStarring: Bradley Cooper, Toni Collette, David Strathairn, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Willem Dafoe, Ron Perlman, Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen, Holt McCallany Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) has made many films about monsters, the macabre, and other unexplainable forces. His new film, Nightmare Alley, takes his audience back to the traveling carnival. Bradley Cooper leads an all-star cast as Stanton Carlisle. He enters the grounds of a traveling carnival admiring the crowds, the spectacles, and the cons at hand. He befriends a psychic and her magician husband who teach him the secrets of the trade. He fallsRead More →

15 December
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SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME Director: Jon WattsStarring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jamie Foxx, Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is back, and I’m here to say that Spider-Man: No Way Home is the best Spider-Man film to date. There’s no wasting time for director Jon Watts and his writing team of Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna. It picks up moments after the events of the second film Far From Home as Spider-Man’s real identity is revealed to be of the teenage Peter Parker. His life is forever changed as now all eyesRead More →

12 December
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ENCOUNTER Director: Michael PearceStarring: Riz Ahmed, Octavia Spencer, Lucian-River Chauhan, Aditya Geddada, Rory Cochrane, Janina Gavankar, Misha Collins Riz Ahmed earned a Best Actor nomination for his stunning work in last year’s film Sound of Metal. He’s giving another captivating performance in Encounter. Ahmed stars as Malik Khan, a former marine, who believes a non-terrestrial microorganism is living inside us using the human body as a host. He continues to see the effects of this threat believing it’s taking over the planet. He takes his two boys on a road trip hoping to save them from this threat. Here’s my review And check out myRead More →

12 December
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THE POWER OF THE DOG Director: Jane CampionStarring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Sean Keenan, George Mason Benedict Cumberbatch has turned in memorable performances from Doctor Strange to Sherlock Holmes. You’ll see him in a whole new light as a rough cowboy in Jane Campion’s new film The Power of the Dog. Benedict Cumberbatch makes his character, Phil Burbank, someone who is not be messed with as he carries himself with a forceful bull-like presence. It’s Montana 1925 in a quaint little town. His brother, George, starts spending more time with local kitchen owner, Rose. As George and Rose fall in love,Read More →

09 December
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WEST SIDE STORY Director: Steven SpielbergStarring: Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, Mike Faist, David Alvarez, Rita Moreno, Brian d’Arcy James, Corey Stoll The combination of Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner (Lincoln) working with the classic musical by Steven Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, and Arthur Laurents comes with massive expectations knowing the caliber of these creative geniuses. Let me reassure you that their adaptation of West Side Story is potent and more relevant than ever before. As the snaps and percussion of Leonard Bernstein’s score ring out, Spielberg opens the film in the rubble of what will become Lincoln Center. The local gang of White AmericansRead More →

08 December
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BEING THE RICARDOS Director: Aaron SorkinStarring: Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, J.K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, Jake Lacy Writer Aaron Sorkin has tackled trailblazers like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. Now he’s peeling back the curtain on Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz at a tumultuous time in their marriage and career in his new film Being the Ricardos. Aaron Sorkin pairs down their extensive life and career into a one-week period from a Monday table read of I Love Lucy through a Friday taping. Tapped to play Lucille is Nicole Kidman who finds her life upended when rumors spread about her being aRead More →

02 December
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ENCANTO Director: Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Charise Castro SmithStarring: Stephanie Beatriz, John Leguizamo, Wilmer Valderamma, María Cecilia Botero, Jessica Darrow Disney has released two new animated films in 2021. First was Raya and the Last Dragon, and now Encanto is in theaters and winning over families with their traditional Disney magic. Both films continue Disney’s efforts at showcasing other cultures and traditions with Encanto centering on a magical family who live in the mountains of Columbia. The Madrigal Family has been gifted a special everlasting candle that has provided life’s blessings for generations. There are special gifts and talents passed down from one generation toRead More →