The Last Shift (2020)

September 26, 2020 by Mike Hicks

This film is a simple story about a fast-food worker of 38-years, Stanley, played by Oscar-Nominated Richard Jenkins (“The Visitor, “The Shape of Water”, “Step Brothers”), begins training his replacement as he prepares for retirement. His replacement, Jevon, played by relative newcomer Shane Paul McGhie, who wasn’t even alive when Stanley began his career, is a parolee who is trying to turn his life around, but is baffled by Stanley’s contentment with such a thankless job.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

March 01, 2020 by Mike Hicks in Film Review

There are films out there with mediocre stories, but incredibly exciting execution (i.e. the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe), and then there are films with incredibly heartbreakingly beautiful stories with unbelievably boring execution. “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” falls into the latter.

I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK. (2006)

February 29, 2020 by Mike Hicks in Film Review

For anyone who is familiar with Park Chan-wook’s filmography, I’m sure that upon hearing his name, your mind conjures up dark and twisted plots with fucked up imagery and a side of sexual tension. Who could fault even the lesser seasoned Chan-wook fans? That’s kind of his Modus Operandi.

Uncut Gems (2019)

December 23, 2019 by Mike Hicks in Film Review

The Safdie brothers take these seemingly uninteresting stories and film them “guerilla style” on the streets of New York, giving them an atmosphere of heightened intensity. What is happening through most of the film, when broken down, wouldn’t even be worthy of the exposition heavy dialogue scenes of an action movie. But the way they are filmed and edited with the heavy booming drone of the electronic sound track creates a sense of urgency that makes the audience feel like they are witnessing this action-packed chase be unveiled right before their eyes.

The Irishman (2019)

November 14, 2019 by Mike Hicks

Marred by controversy (for some reason) and buried by old theater execs (and strangely, Box Office Mojo), “The Irishman” was quietly released in a limited number of theaters this past weekend with cries that Netflix is ruining the movie theater experience.

Doctor Sleep (2019)

November 08, 2019 by Mike Hicks in Film Review

This film succeeds in many aspects. The ensemble cast are all great and there are no real week spots. The scenes that were flashbacks to 1980 when the events of its predecessor took place, it was refreshing that they used actors made-up to look, sound and act like Jack Nicholson’s Jack Torrence (Henry Thomas) and Shelley Duvall’s Wendy Torrence (Alex Essoe) rather than falling into the, frankly, boring trend of using CGI to recreate them. It made for a less distracting experience.

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

November 07, 2019 by Mike Hicks in Film Review

At the forefront of the film is Johannes, or Jojo, played by newcomer Roman Griffin Davis. At his young age and small stature, he commands the scene moving the film along at a perfect pace and has seemingly such a deep understanding of the subject matter.

Monos (2019)

October 19, 2019 by Mike Hicks

Monos, like many of its influences, examine the human condition (specifically that of children) when put into extreme circumstances, which in this case are seclusion and a lack of protection from the elements. Much like Lord of the Flies, our characters descend into chaos the more danger is forced upon their lives, even if it is self-inflicted.

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

October 18, 2019 by Mike Hicks in Film Review

At the dawn the 1930s, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to show a realistic depiction of war. With the Motion Picture Production Code (also known as The Hays Code) having been adopted by most motion picture studios in 1930, this film came out at the very beginning of the controversial code’s inaugural year. That, on top of the general distaste for anything anti-war within the first 50 years of the 20th century, it is safe to assume that many elements of this film were digested with much scrutiny. But that is part of what makes this film so phenomenal.

Skin (2018) →

October 15, 2019 by Mike Hicks in Film Review

Where the film triumphs is where any good film should. It has great performances, most notably by Bell and Camp, and beautiful cinematography by Arnaud Potier. But I struggle to think of anything that would make this film memorable, or at the very least, stick out from similar films (American History X, Imperium, The Believer). It is certainly a good movie, but for me, it does not have that one thing that pushes it over the edge. There is nothing that will stick with me.