Production Company(ies)
Diamond Docs A&E Indie Films, Passion Pictures,
 
Distributor
20th Century Fox
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited), Theatrical (Wide)
 
Filming Location(s)
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements, some violent content, drug material and language
 
Year of Release
2018
 

 
Genre(s)
Crime/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, K.J Apa, Anthony Mackie, Sabrina Carpenter, directed by George Tillman Jr., written by Audrey Wells, crime, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Cate Young, Stephen Romei, Wenlei Ma, Sandra Hall, Soraya Nadia McDonald, Simran Hans, David Reddish, Kip Mooney, Lonita Cook, Alix Turner, Mike Massie, PG-13, police shooting, racial tension, social justice, witness, YA genre, dual identities, poor neighborhood, wealthy prep school, producer Robert Teitel, Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, 20th Century Fox, Dolby SR, Scope (2.35:1)
 

Cast & Crew

Amandla Stenberg

Regina Hall

Russell Hornsby

K.J. Apa

Anthony Mackie

Starr Carter

Lisa Carter

Maverick Carter

Chris

King

Amandla Stenberg – Starr Carter
Regina Hall – Lisa Carter
Russell Hornsby – Maverick Carter
K.J. Apa – Chris
Anthony Mackie – King
Sabrina Carpenter – Hailey
Director – George Tillman Jr.
Producers – Robert Teitel, George Tillman Jr., Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey
Writer – Audrey Wells

 

George Tillman Jr.

Audrey Wells

Robert Teitel

George Tillman Jr.

Marty Bowen

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
George Tillman Jr.
 
Writer(s)
Audrey Wells
 
Producer(s)
Robert Teitel, George Tillman Jr., Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey

 

Film Festivals
Toronto
 
Awards & Nominations
22 wins & 38 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Cate Young

Stephen Romei

Wenlei Ma

Sandra Hall

Soraya Nadia McDonald

Bitch Media

The Australian

News.com.au

Sydney Morning Herald

Andscape

THE HATE U GIVE
  All Critics (226) | Top Critics (61) | Fresh (219) | Rotten (7)
  Throughout ( … ) Starr’s choices are rooted in her desire to maintain her dual identities. She stifles righteous rage and ignores threats ( … ) in order to ( … ) survive.
 
  March 6, 2019
 
  Cate Young
  Bitch Media
  TOP CRITIC
  It has a long way to go and every minute of it is worth watching.
 
  February 8, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Stephen Romei
  The Australian
  TOP CRITIC
  The Hate U Give features a strong and incredibly moving performance from Amandla Stenberg, who never holds anything back from the audience and never overplays a moment. She’s a star in the making.
 
  January 31, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
  Wenlei Ma
  News.com.au
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s a performance without any posturing — no mean achievement in these circumstances.
 
  January 30, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Sandra Hall
  Sydney Morning Herald
  TOP CRITIC
  In dealing with all of it, the book character finds her confidence and her voice. But the movie version of The Hate U Give leaves me unsure that its makers ever found theirs.
 
  November 2, 2018
 
  Soraya Nadia McDonald
  Andscape
  TOP CRITIC
  Though it leans on the genre beats of melodrama to occasionally clunky effect in order to mine the audience’s tears, it’s impressive how it metabolises these moments of charged emotion in order to make its wider points.
 
  October 29, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Simran Hans
  Observer (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  The Hate U Give isnt always an easy pill to swallow by design: Tillman and Wells want to start a conversation. They succeed in their intentions, creating one of the best films of the past decade, and a showcase for Stenberg.
 
  March 20, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  David Reddish
  Queerty
  While its ending ties up everything in a perhaps too-neat little bow, the film also stands as one of the most powerful and vital films of the year.
 
  August 10, 2021 | Rating: B+
 
  Kip Mooney
  Central Track
  [Has] an important impact to experience as a movie-goer, but artistically it’s missing a little something for me…. the [book] is great and important.
 
  June 16, 2021
 
  Lonita Cook
  KCTV5 News at 9
  Sixteen-year-old Starr is the sole witness to her childhood friend’s fatal shooting by a white police officer and everything changes for her and her family.
 
  February 2, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
  Alix Turner
  Ready Steady Cut
  A potent, powerful work, full of tough questions, tougher answers, and outstanding performances.
 
  December 6, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  Amandla Stenberg gives a phenomenal performance not to be missed. She’s a fantastic young talent who really wrestles with Starr’s continual conflict at hand…
 
  November 5, 2020 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Paul McGuire Grimes
  KSTP-TV (St. Paul, MN)…

 

Plot
Starr Carter is constantly switching between two worlds: the poor, mostly black, neighborhood where she lives and the rich, mostly white, prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressures from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what’s right.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Amandla Stenberg’s performance in The Hate U Give is described as “strong and incredibly moving” by critics.
 

 
George-Tillman-Jr..jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Red Crown Productions, The Princess Grace Foundation Participant
 
Distributor
A24
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
White Plains, New York, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and some sexual material
 
Year of Release
2018
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
Eighth Grade, Comedy, Drama, Bo Burnham, Elsie Fisher, Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Lila Yacoub, Christopher Storer, R, Box Office, Budget, Reviewed by J.R Jones, Charlotte O’Sullivan, Mark Kermode, Ed Potton, Cath Clarke, Brian Eggert, Cory Woodroof, Jason Adams, Taylor Baker, Hosea Rupprecht, Thirteen-year-old, Middle School, Adolescence, Kayla, Riley, Trevor, Aniyah, Aiden, Kennedy, Universal, Realistic, Coming-of-age, Breakthroughs, Captivating, Tidal Wave, Suburban, Last Week, End of Year, English, A24, Flat, 1.85:1
 

Cast & Crew

Elsie Kate Fisher

Daniel Zolghadri

Fred Hechinger

Imani Lewis

Luke Prael

Kayla

Riley

Trevor

Aniyah

Aiden

Elsie Kate Fisher – Kayla
Daniel Zolghadri – Riley
Fred Hechinger – Trevor
Imani Lewis – Aniyah
Luke Prael – Aiden
Catherine Oliviere – Kennedy

 

Bo Burnham

Bo Burnham

Scott Rudin

Eli Bush

Lila Yacoub

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Bo Burnham
 
Writer(s)
Bo Burnham
 
Producer(s)
Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Lila Yacoub, Christopher Storer

 

Film Festivals
Sundance, South by Southwest
 
Awards & Nominations
60 wins & 94 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

J. R. Jones

Charlotte O’Sullivan

Mark Kermode

Ed Potton

Cath Clarke

Chicago Reader

London Evening Standard

Observer (UK)

Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review

Times (UK)

EIGHTH GRADE
  All Critics (320) | Top Critics (85) | Fresh (317) | Rotten (3)
  Not since Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) has a comedy captured so vividly the agony and the ecstasy-well, OK, it’s all agony-of being a… teenage girl. [Full review in Spanish]
 
  March 17, 2020
 
  J. R. Jones
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  Eighth Grade is a masterpiece.
 
  April 28, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Charlotte O’Sullivan
  London Evening Standard
  TOP CRITIC
  The real genius of Eighth Grade is its universality – an honesty and compassion that cut across generational boundaries.
 
  April 28, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Mark Kermode
  Observer (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  There are moments of great darkness…Bo Burnham does a brilliant job of judging just how far to push any particular scene. And there is kindness, and joy, and the lurking underbelly of friendship.
 
  April 26, 2019
 
  Mark Kermode
  Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s just sweet, sad and beautifully observed.
 
  April 26, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Ed Potton
  Times (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  This is a film that gets under the skin of Generation X with humour and heartfelt emotion that makes it a genuinely great coming-of-age movie that hooks you by the heart.
 
  April 26, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Cath Clarke
  The Big Issue
  TOP CRITIC
  Eighth Grade is one of those rare films that speaks to everyone, regardless of its subjective specificity, through universal life lessons that every person must learn and overcome before becoming an adult.
 
  March 11, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  Burnham challenges us to look back on our own pasts and give those meme-ready phone surfers a big break.
 
  February 11, 2022
 
  Cory Woodroof
  615 Film
  A relentlessly incisive and anxiety-inducing dumbo drop into the worst time of our collective lives
 
  January 10, 2022
 
  Jason Adams
  My New Plaid Pants
  Earnest and sweet, fumbling and awkward.
 
  August 22, 2021 | Rating: 70/100
 
  Taylor Baker
  Drink in the Movies
  Eighth Grade, the film by first time writer-director Bo Burnham, is not for eighth graders. But if you’re a parent, grandparent, or anyone who cares deeply about the 13 or 14 year-old in your life, this film is for you.
 
  August 13, 2021
 
  Hosea Rupprecht
  Pauline Center for Media Studies
  Starring the naturally sympathetic young actress Elsie Fisher, it’s a vivid and sometimes quietly heartbreaking reminder of how awkward growing up can be.
 
  May 11, 2021
 
  Nick Levine
  NME…

 

Plot
In his feature film directorial debut, comedian Bo Burnham deftly encapsulates the awkwardness, angst, self-loathing and reinvention that a teenage girl goes through on the cusp of high school. Given that the 27-year-old stand-up comic achieved fame as a teenager himself through YouTube by riffing on his insecurities, he is uniquely capable as the film’s writer and director to tell the story of Kayla, an anxious girl navigating the final days of her eighth grade year, despite creating a protagonist female instead of male. Like Burnham did more than a decade ago, 13-year-old Kayla turns to YouTube to express herself, where she makes advice blogs in which she pretends to have it all together. In reality, Kayla is sullen and silent around her single father and her peers at school, carrying out most of her interactions with her classmates on Instagram and Twitter. Her YouTube videos are a clever narrative tool that provide insight into her inner hopes and dreams, much like an inspirational online diary. One of Eighth Grade’s biggest triumphs is in its realism.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Elsie Fisher’s performance as Kayla is “captivating” and a breakthrough for the young actress.
 

 
Bo-Burnham.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
The 10 East Vanishing Angle
 
Distributor
Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Stage 6
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited), Theatrical (Wide)
 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for thematic content, some drug and sexual references, and for language
 
Year of Release
2018
 

 
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
 
Keyword(s)
Searching, PG-13, mystery, thriller, John Cho, Debra Messing, directed by Aneesh Chaganty, written by Aneesh Chaganty, Sev Ohanian, produced by Timur Bekmambetov, Sev Ohanian, Adam Sidman, Natalie Qasabian, box office gross $26.0M, reviewed by Andrea Gronvall, Roxana Hadadi, Sandra Hall, Wenlei Ma, David Stratton, Chris Stuckmann, Brian Eggert, Cory Woodroof, Taylor Baker, Nicholas Oon, Hosea Rupprecht, rated 91% on Tomatometer, 87% audience score, David Kim, Margot, Detective Vick, Peter, Pamela Nam Kim, Young Margot, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Stage 6, English, 1h 42m, flat aspect ratio, some drug references, language, some sexual references, thematic content, laptop, social media, found footage, crime thriller, apps, Facebook, YouTube, Google Maps, red herrings, character depth, happy ending
 

Cast & Crew

John Cho

Debra Messing

Joseph Lee

Michelle La

Sara Sohn

David Kim

Detective Vick

Peter

Margot

Pamela Nam Kim

John Cho – David Kim
Debra Messing – Detective Vick
Joseph Lee – Peter
Michelle La – Margot
Sara Sohn – Pamela Nam Kim
Alex Jayne Go – Young Margot (5 yrs)

 

Aneesh Chaganty

Aneesh Chaganty

Timur Bekmambetov

Sev Ohanian

Adam Sidman

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Aneesh Chaganty
 
Writer(s)
Aneesh Chaganty, Sev Ohanian
 
Producer(s)
Timur Bekmambetov, Sev Ohanian, Adam Sidman, Natalie Qasabian

 

Film Festivals
Sundance
 
Awards & Nominations
6 wins & 10 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Andrea Gronvall

Roxana Hadadi

Sandra Hall

Wenlei Ma

David Stratton

Chicago Reader

Chesapeake Family Magazine

Sydney Morning Herald

News.com.au

The Australian

SEARCHING
  All Critics (258) | Top Critics (51) | Fresh (236) | Rotten (22)
  Shot mostly with iPhones and GoPro cameras, the movie is visually drab and a little too gimmicky – ultimately it’s a stunt, albeit an engrossing one.
 
  March 20, 2020
 
  Andrea Gronvall
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  Searching follows Eighth Grade as another thought-provoking film about the intersection between teens’ lives and their presence-and reliance-on social media.
 
  September 21, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
  Roxana Hadadi
  Chesapeake Family Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s done with few words but it’s unexpectedly touching, fulfilling the film’s key promise – that it’s going to make you care about these people, despite the secondhand nature of its delivery system.
 
  September 14, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Sandra Hall
  Sydney Morning Herald
  TOP CRITIC
  It helps when you have a lead like John Cho, who after 20 years in the industry is finally bagging the kind of starring roles he deserves.
 
  September 13, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Wenlei Ma
  News.com.au
  TOP CRITIC
  An extremely tasty thriller that delivers exactly the right amount of suspense and twisty surprises.
 
  September 7, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
 
  David Stratton
  The Australian
  TOP CRITIC
  I was floored by the craft on display.
 
  September 7, 2018 | Rating: A
 
  Chris Stuckmann
  ChrisStuckmann.com
  TOP CRITIC
  Chaganty’s unsubtle approach broadcasts every clue, relying on a tired formula where every detail onscreen proves significant in a dull way. Attentive viewers will see the twists coming.
 
  March 11, 2022 | Rating: 2/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  Here’s hoping future films in this new mode of storytelling take note from what Searching does so well and avoid what doesn’t exactly mesh.
 
  February 11, 2022
 
  Cory Woodroof
  Williamson Home Page
  Episode 6: Bourbon and Smoke
 
  August 28, 2021 | Rating: 50/100
 
  Taylor Baker
  Drink in the Movies
  This is screenwriting at its finest. The film just gives you one emotional punch after the next the suspense just builds and builds as more details about the mystery are revealed.
 
  August 17, 2021 | Rating: 9.5/10
 
  Nicholas Oon
  Maximum Hype (YouTube)
  Searching is a clarion call for any parent of a teen…
 
  August 13, 2021
 
  Hosea Rupprecht
  Pauline Center for Media Studies
  It’s a little too conventional in its climax and conclusion but John Cho’s terrific performance and some genuine thrills elevate the story past its visual gimmick.
 
  March 4, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Richard Crouse
  Richard Crouse…

 

Plot
After David Kim (John Cho)’s 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a local investigation is opened and a detective is assigned to the case. But 37 hours later and without a single lead, David decides to search the one place no one has looked yet, where all secrets are kept today: his daughter’s laptop. In a hyper-modern thriller told via the technology devices we use every day to communicate, David must trace his daughter’s digital footprints before she disappears forever.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
John Cho gives a strong performance as the lead character, David Kim.
 

 
Aneesh-Chaganty.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
20th Century Studios, Amblin Entertainment, Amblin Partners
 
Distributor
MUBI
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
New York, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
 
Year of Release
2018
 

 
Genre(s)
Documentary/Music
 
Keyword(s)
documentary, music, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Stephen Schible, Stephen Schible, Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, Neo Sora, Hisayo Kushida, box office, budget, reviewed by David Stratton, reviewed by Marjorie Baumgarten, reviewed by Brad Wheeler, reviewed by G Allen Johnson, reviewed by Michael Phillips, reviewed by Michael Rechtshaffen, directed by Stephen Schible, produced by Stephen Schible, MPAA rating, MUBI, Japanese, composer, legacy, creative process, nature, mortality, artistry, career, portrait, cinematographer, film editing, audience score, critic consensus, novices, longtime fans, Avicii: True Stories, Sharkwater Extinction, Say My Name, A Tuba to Cuba, Leaning Into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy
 

Cast & Crew

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Stephen Schible

Tsuguhiko Kadokawa

Neo Sora

Hisayo Kushida

Ryuichi Sakamoto,Self

Stephen Schible,Director,Producer

Tsuguhiko Kadokawa,Executive Producer

Neo Sora,Cinematographer

Hisayo Kushida,Film Editing

Ryuichi Sakamoto – Self
Stephen Schible – Director, Producer
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa – Executive Producer
Neo Sora – Cinematographer
Hisayo Kushida – Film Editing

 

Stephen Schible

NA

NA

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Stephen Schible
 
Writer(s)
NA
 
Producer(s)
NA

 

Film Festivals
Venice
 
Awards & Nominations
8 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

David Stratton

Marjorie Baumgarten

Brad Wheeler

G. Allen Johnson

Michael Phillips

The Australian

Austin Chronicle

Globe and Mail

San Francisco Chronicle

Chicago Tribune

RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA
  All Critics (48) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (47) | Rotten (1)
  Schible’s documentary – while not particularly well shot – is a very useful insight into the work of a major composer.
 
  October 26, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
  David Stratton
  The Australian
  TOP CRITIC
  Those who are interested in how documentarians capture artistry on film will find good examples in Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda. It helps to come to the film with some foreknowledge of Sakamoto’s career, however.
 
  August 16, 2018 | Rating: 2.5/5
 
  Marjorie Baumgarten
  Austin Chronicle
  TOP CRITIC
  Isn’t a life story or a deep-dive character study. Rather it is a heartfelt mediation on the creative process, with elegantly presented ideas on nature, music, mortality and things out of tune.
 
  August 2, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Brad Wheeler
  Globe and Mail
  TOP CRITIC
  Stephen Nomura Schible’s documentary, Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA is not only a portrait of a great artist, but a sensitive and engrossing depiction of the act of creation and its process.
 
  July 26, 2018 | Rating: 4/4
 
  G. Allen Johnson
  San Francisco Chronicle
  TOP CRITIC
  Simply by lingering with his pensive, compelling subject at the keyboard, or engaging Sakamoto (discreetly) in his thoughts on his life and his music, Schible casts a spell and captures the spirit of a uniquely gifted composer.
 
  July 26, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Michael Phillips
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  The intimate documentary “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda” finds the accomplished composer in a deeply introspective place in both his life and career.
 
  July 12, 2018
 
  Michael Rechtshaffen
  Los Angeles Times
  TOP CRITIC
  Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA flows with the same haunting grace that latches itself on to one of Sakamoto’s iconic scores or compositions.
 
  February 11, 2022
 
  Cory Woodroof
  615 Film
  A sensational portrait of a legendary musical poet. I could watch this 100 times and still be fascinated by its beauty.
 
  December 7, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
  Morgan Rojas
  Cinemacy
  Stephen Schible’s documentary biography of the great film composer is not only an interesting portrait of an artist but a sensitive and engrossing exploration of the act of creation itself.
 
  November 6, 2020
 
  Karen Martin
  Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
  An intimate portrait of one of the great musical legends…
 
  September 23, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Andrew Heskins
  easternKicks.com
  Spend some time with Riyuchi Sakamoto and you will see and hear the world differently. It’s what some of us want in a movie experience.
 
  November 22, 2019
 
  Catherine Capellaro
  Isthmus (Madison, WI)
  Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda perfectly captures the somber side of the beloved composer but fails to better engage the other facets of his work and history.
 
  July 17, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/5
 
  Dominic Griffin
  Spectrum Culture…

 

Plot
From techno-pop stardom to Oscar-winning film composer, the evolution of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s music has coincided with his life journeys. Following Fukushima, Sakamoto became an iconic figure in Japan’s social movement against nuclear power. As Sakamoto returns to music following a cancer diagnosis, his haunting awareness of life crises leads to a resounding new masterpiece. RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA is an intimate portrait of both the artist and the man.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Ryuichi Sakamoto is the only cast member in the documentary film Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda.
 

 
Stephen-Schible.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,
 
Distributor
Fox Searchlight
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited), Theatrical (Wide)
 
Filming Location(s)
UK
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and some violent images
 
Year of Release
2018
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Adventure
 
Keyword(s)
Isle of Dogs, PG-13, Wes Anderson, Bryan Cranston, Ed Norton, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Liev Schreiber, Jeff Goldblum, stop-motion animation, comedy, adventure, Thematic Elements, Some Violent Images, Fox Searchlight, Dolby Digital, Scope (2.35:1), Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, written by Wes Anderson, $31.9M, 370 Reviews, 87% Audience Score, reviewed by J.R Jones, Robert Daniels, David Stratton, Jake Wilson, Chris Stuckmann, Wenlei Ma, Brian Eggert, Jeffrey Harris, Daisy Leigh-Phippard, Cory Woodroof, Kip Mooney, Milana Vujkov, directed by Wes Anderson, produced by Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, PG-13 rating, Trash Island, Atari, Spots, canine pets, Megasaki City, pack of mongrel friends, epic journey, fate, future, entire Prefecture
 

Cast & Crew

Bryan Cranston

Ed Norton

Scarlett Johansson

Bill Murray

Liev Schreiber

Chief

Rex

Nutmeg

Boss

Spots

Bryan Cranston – Chief (Voice)
Ed Norton – Rex (Voice)
Scarlett Johansson – Nutmeg (Voice)
Bill Murray – Boss (Voice)
Liev Schreiber – Spots (Voice)
Jeff Goldblum – Duke (Voice)

 

Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson

Scott Rudin

Steven Rales

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Wes Anderson
 
Writer(s)
Wes Anderson
 
Producer(s)
Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson

 

Film Festivals
Berlin, South by Southwest
 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
34 wins & 94 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

J. R. Jones

Robert Daniels

David Stratton

Jake Wilson

Chris Stuckmann

Chicago Reader

812filmreviews

The Australian

The Age

ChrisStuckmann.com

ISLE OF DOGS
  All Critics (370) | Top Critics (73) | Fresh (333) | Rotten (37)
  The director and his hip writing partners (Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola, Kunichi Nomura) infuse their imaginary world with winning deadpan humor.
 
  March 5, 2020
 
  J. R. Jones
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  Wes Anderson’s latest venture, Isle of Dogs, is another example of the writer/director’s editing and camerawork craftsmanship. A triumph of his own Andersonian aesthetic, yet an albatross concerning his appetite for cultural window dressing.
 
  August 27, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Robert Daniels
  812filmreviews
  TOP CRITIC
  With its beautiful formal imagery, its gallery of hugely likeable canines and its cheerfully crazy plotting, Isle of Dogs really is a unique experience, and a thoroughly enchanting one.
 
  April 13, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
 
  David Stratton
  The Australian
  TOP CRITIC
  This is outwardly one of Anderson’s bleakest films. It’s also one of his dullest and least emotional.
 
  April 13, 2018 | Rating: 2.5/5
 
  Jake Wilson
  The Age (Australia)
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s almost as if Anderson is knowingly allowing the actors’ personalities to seep through…the stop-motion is staggering…
 
  April 11, 2018 | Rating: B+
 
  Chris Stuckmann
  ChrisStuckmann.com
  TOP CRITIC
  Isle of Dogs is quintessential Wes Anderson – that fetishistic attention to detail and a deadpan-ness that saves his brand of whimsy from becoming twee.
 
  April 11, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Wenlei Ma
  News.com.au
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s perhaps too easy for the viewer to become lost in Anderson’s creativity, as opposed to becoming lost in the emotional power of the storytelling, and so Isle of Dogs feels less engaging than his previous output.
 
  March 14, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  Isle of Dogs is a perfect film for dog lovers, or maybe just animal lovers in general. It expresses the special bond and friendship between humans and their pets. Wes Anderson realizes these ideas with an amazing, unique flare.
 
  February 23, 2022 | Rating: 9/10
 
  Jeffrey Harris
  411mania
  Anderson tried to make space for culture but the argument still holds that the film certainly comes from a Western perspective; its complex communication study, while creative, is not designed to be absorbed by those that speak both English and Japanese.
 
  February 21, 2022
 
  Daisy Leigh-Phippard
  Screen Queens
  All of Anderson’s films have some level of warmth, but few have this fierce of a bite.
 
  February 11, 2022
 
  Cory Woodroof
  615 Film
  Meticulously crafted, well-acted and often hilarious.
 
  August 21, 2021 | Rating: B+
 
  Kip Mooney
  College Movie Review
  [A] blend of innocence and weltschmerz.
 
  July 29, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Milana Vujkov
  Lola On Film…

 

Plot
When all the dogs in Megasaki City are exiled to Trash Island, a 12-year-old boy named Atari sets off on a journey to find his bodyguard-dog, Spots, with the help of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends in Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animated film, Isle of Dogs.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast of Isle of Dogs includes Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, and Jeff Goldblum, among others.
 

 
Wes-Anderson.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
The Weinstein Company, UK Film Council Momentum Pictures,
 
Distributor
Walt Disney
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
 
Filming Location(s)
Durham Cathedral, The College, Durham, County Durham, England, UK
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, language and some crude references
 
Year of Release
2018
 

 
Genre(s)
Action/Adventure
 
Keyword(s)

Cast & Crew

Robert Downey Jr

Chris Hemsworth

Josh Brolin

Chadwick Boseman

Mark Ruffalo

Tony Stark

Iron Man

Thor

Thanos

T’Challa

CAST & CREW

Robert Downey Jr. – Tony Stark, Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth – Thor
Josh Brolin – Thanos
Chadwick Boseman – T’Challa, Black Panther
Mark Ruffalo – Bruce Banner, Hulk
Zoe Saldana – Gamora

Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Producer: Kevin Feige
Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely

Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, DTS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

 

Anthony Russo

Christopher Markus

Kevin Feige

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
 
Writer(s)
Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
 
Producer(s)
Kevin Feige

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
46 wins & 79 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Ben Sachs

Anupama Chopra

Robert Daniels

Jonathan Romney

Anthony Lane

Chicago Reader

Film Companion

812filmreviews

Film Comment Magazine

New Yorker

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
  All Critics (488) | Top Critics (84) | Fresh (415) | Rotten (73)
  With so many characters to cover, directors Anthony and Joe Russo have no time to develop any of them, and the action set pieces are all by the numbers.
 
  March 11, 2020
 
  Ben Sachs
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  Infinity War didn’t wear me down in the way that Age of Ultron did, it didn’t give me the high of the first Avengers either. Like I said, manage expectations and you’ll be just fine.
 
  August 28, 2018 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Anupama Chopra
  Film Companion
  TOP CRITIC
  The film’s risk comes from the inherent need to ‘balance’ a myriad of characters’ storylines, yet the story itself is nothing more than those same MCU building blocks.
 
  August 27, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Robert Daniels
  812filmreviews
  TOP CRITIC
  The conclusion of Infinity War is so shocking because it doesn’t feel like a cliffhanger, more like a drastic wiping clean of the slate before the whole cycle starts again, with whatever reversal of fortune or comprehensive reboot it may be.
 
  May 3, 2018
 
  Jonathan Romney
  Film Comment Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  At stake, as ever, is the fate of the universe. Why must it always be the universe? What’s wrong with the fate of Hackensack? Doesn’t anyone care what happens to South Dakota, or Denmark, or Peru?
 
  April 30, 2018
 
  Anthony Lane
  New Yorker
  TOP CRITIC
  The insubstantiality of the film isn’t due to the infinite yet flimsy malleability of C.G.I. gimmickry but, instead, to the dispersion of its drama throughout the many cinematic installations set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
 
  April 29, 2018
 
  Richard Brody
  New Yorker
  TOP CRITIC
  Infinity War is all about balance, in many different respects. Balance and tone, both of which, for a film with such ambition and size, are remarkable in how well they are executed.
 
  April 3, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Tony Black
  Cultural Conversation
  The audience is left drained, albeit thrilled, and as every great MCU title does, it leaves us hotly anticipating the next chapter.
 
  March 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  The grand Marvel Cinematic Universe team-up has been out for a few weeks now, and just about everyone from Ben Garland to Zsa Zsa the now-fired Buccaneers Parrot has probably seen this giganto box office muncher of epic proportions.
 
  February 11, 2022
 
  Cory Woodroof
  The Falcoholic
  Episode 7: Globalism
 
  August 28, 2021 | Rating: 80/100
 
  Taylor Baker
  Drink in the Movies
  Thanks to the superb visual effects, the film is truly a work of art, even if it tries to pack in just a little too much, making some characters more like afterthoughts rather than integral to the plot.
 
  August 24, 2021
 
  Hosea Rupprecht
  Pauline Center for Media Studies
  I’m torn on the big finale. This is either the gutsiest ending of any modern blockbuster, or a prelude to an emotional cop-out.
 
  August 21, 2021 | Rating: B
 
  Kip Mooney
  College Movie Review…

 

Plot
As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment, the fate of Earth and existence has never been more uncertain.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
 

 
Anthony-Russo.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Twentieth Century Fox,
 
Distributor
Kino Lorber
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
Los Angeles, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
 
Year of Release
2018
 

 
Genre(s)
Documentary
 
Keyword(s)
Filmworker, documentary, Stanley Kubrick, Leon Vitali, Tony Zierra, Elizabeth Yoffe, Ryan O’Neal, Danny Lloyd, Matthew Modine, R Lee Ermey, Stellan Skarsgård, critic reviews, Kino Lorber, box office, budget, producer, director, writer, MPAA rating, behind-the-scenes, collaboration, creative process, cult, dysfunctional, tragedy, appreciation, right-hand man, Kubrick’s genius, Kubrick’s tyrant, production detail, troubling window, demanding work, long-overdue recognition, minor classic, celebration, below the line, crewmembers, posthumous, surviving, Goliath, self-reflexive storytelling, spirit, wavering
 

Cast & Crew

Leon Vitali

Ryan O’Neal

Danny Lloyd

Matthew Modine

R. Lee Ermey

Leon Vitali

Ryan O’Neal

Danny Lloyd

Matthew Modine

R. Lee Ermey

Leon Vitali – Self
Ryan O’Neal – Self
Danny Lloyd – Self
Matthew Modine – Self
R. Lee Ermey – Self
Stellan Skarsgård – Self

 

Tony Zierra

NA

Elizabeth Yoffe

Tony Zierra

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Tony Zierra
 
Writer(s)
NA
 
Producer(s)
Elizabeth Yoffe, Tony Zierra

 

Film Festivals
Cannes, Telluride
 
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 4 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

J. R. Jones

Robert Daniels

Richard Whittaker

Michael Phillips

Ann Hornaday

Chicago Reader

812filmreviews

Austin Chronicle

Chicago Tribune

Washington Post

FILMWORKER
  All Critics (86) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (82) | Rotten (4)
  There’s plenty of production detail for Kubrick nuts, though the two competing narratives (Kubrick the genius, Kubrick the tyrant) won’t surprise anyone.
 
  March 5, 2020
 
  J. R. Jones
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  If there is a cult around Kubrick, Vitali was the first card carrying member.
 
  August 27, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Robert Daniels
  812filmreviews
  TOP CRITIC
  That’s where the greatest qualms may come in this stylish and sometimes overly reverential portrait: It’s as if Vitali never really existed without the director.
 
  July 12, 2018 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Richard Whittaker
  Austin Chronicle
  TOP CRITIC
  “Filmworker” is a first-rate account of the ongoing creative process some call dysfunctional. Well, anyone would call it that, actually. But some would also call it worth it.
 
  June 2, 2018
 
  Michael Phillips
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  “Filmworker’s” greatest value lies in pulling the lens back to allow viewers to understand film as a deeply collaborative medium, one in which even the most venerated auteurs cannot accomplish their greatest feats alone.
 
  May 30, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Ann Hornaday
  Washington Post
  TOP CRITIC
  Whether you’re fascinated by Kubrick or the human condition this is a minor classic.
 
  May 25, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Charlotte O’Sullivan
  London Evening Standard
  TOP CRITIC
  Perhaps best of all, the documentary, while probing its subject and offering a unique glimpse into a behind-the-scenes figure, celebrates such “below the line” crewmembers.
 
  March 11, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  Though some reviews have described Filmworker as a tragedy, it’s clear that the 72-year-old Vitali has few regrets, and there’s no doubt that Kubrick’s indelible work wouldn’t have been quite the same without his dedicated assistance.
 
  June 25, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Kathy Fennessy
  Video Librarian Magazine
  Filmworker serves as a reminder that it’s imperative to thank – or at least remember – all the little people.
 
  February 19, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Matt Brunson
  Film Frenzy
  Tony Zierra’s fascinating documentary is ultimately more than a posthumous appreciation of a genius and his surviving right-hand-man.
 
  October 26, 2020
 
  Dennis Harvey
  48 Hills
  Filmworker is much more than a hodge-podge of Kubrick trivia.
 
  July 25, 2020
 
  Scott Phillips
  The Movie Isle
  Zierra paints Vitali as his own David and his own Goliath, and it’s this self-reflexive storytelling that gives Filmworker its spirit, as wavering as it might be.
 
  July 24, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
  Matt Cipolla
  Film Monthly…

 

Plot
It’s a rare person who would give up fame and fortune to toil in obscurity for someone else’s creative vision. Yet, that’s exactly what Leon Vitali did after his acclaimed performance as ‘Lord Bullingdon’ in Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon (1975). The young actor surrendered his thriving career to become Kubrick’s loyal right-hand man. For more than two decades, Leon played a crucial role behind-the-scenes helping Kubrick make and maintain his legendary body of work. In Filmworker, Leon’s candid, often funny, sometimes shocking experiences in the company of Kubrick are woven together with rich and varied elements including previously unseen photos, videos, letters, notebooks, and memos from Leon’s private collection. Insightful, emotionally charged anecdotes from actors, family, crew members, and key film industry professionals who worked with Kubrick and Leon add an important layer of detail and impact to the story. Filmworker enters the world of Leon Vitali and Stanley Kubrick from a unique perspective that highlights the nitty-gritty of the creative process. By experiencing Leon’s journey we come to understand how the mundane gives rise to the magnificent as timeless filmmaking is brought to life at its most practical and profound level.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The documentary Filmworker features interviews with actors who worked with Stanley Kubrick, including Ryan O’Neal and Matthew Modine.
 

 
Tony-Zierra.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Fox 2000 Pictures, Chernin Entertainment, Levantine Films,
 
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
Crema, Cremona, Lombardy, Italy
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for sexual content, nudity and some language
 
Year of Release
2018
 

 
Genre(s)
Romance/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, Victoire Du Bois, directed by Luca Guadagnino, written by James Ivory, Luca Guadagnino, Walter Fasano, romance, drama, LGBTQ+, box office, budget, reviewed by J.R Jones, Robert Daniels, Jonathan Romney, Chris Stuckmann, Jordan Hoffman, Tom Long, Frank J Avella, David Reddish, Brian Eggert, Carson Timar, Ben Turner, Fletcher Powell, R-rated, Sony Pictures Classics, Peter Spears, Emilie Georges, Rodrigo Teixeira, Marco Morabito
 

Cast & Crew

Armie Hammer

Timothée Chalamet

Michael Stuhlbarg

Amira Casar

Esther Garrel

Oliver

Elio Perlman

Mr. Perlman

Annella Perlman

Marzia

Armie Hammer – Oliver
Timothée Chalamet – Elio Perlman
Michael Stuhlbarg – Mr. Perlman
Amira Casar – Annella Perlman
Esther Garrel – Marzia
Victoire Du Bois – Chiara

 

Luca Guadagnino

James Ivory

Peter Spears

Luca Guadagnino

Emilie Georges

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Luca Guadagnino
 
Writer(s)
James Ivory, Luca Guadagnino, Walter Fasano
 
Producer(s)
Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Rodrigo Teixeira, Marco Morabito

 

Film Festivals
Sundance, Berlin, Toronto
 
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
95 wins & 260 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Writing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Winners, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

J. R. Jones

Robert Daniels

Jonathan Romney

Chris Stuckmann

Jordan Hoffman

Chicago Reader

812filmreviews

Film Comment Magazine

ChrisStuckmann.com

Times of Israel

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
  All Critics (366) | Top Critics (80) | Fresh (345) | Rotten (21)
  A modern-day Visconti, Italian director Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love) grants us entry into a world not only of wealth but of culture, which can be just as liberating.
 
  March 25, 2020
 
  J. R. Jones
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  Call Me By Your Name survives because of poignant screenwriting, keen directing, and tender acting.
 
  August 27, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Robert Daniels
  812filmreviews
  TOP CRITIC
  The characters’ beauty and intellectual perfection is so consummate that I couldn’t entirely believe that these people actually had genitals-that they could ever sweat or incur sunburn.
 
  March 8, 2018
 
  Jonathan Romney
  Film Comment Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  This is a beautiful film — one that is startlingly real. It feels so blisteringly sensual and in the moment, that it’s almost impossible to ignore.
 
  February 14, 2018 | Rating: A-
 
  Chris Stuckmann
  ChrisStuckmann.com
  TOP CRITIC
  “Call Me By Your Name” can be considered an idealistic film, but that’s only natural for something about young people experiencing something wonderful for the first time.
 
  February 1, 2018
 
  Jordan Hoffman
  Times of Israel
  TOP CRITIC
  This coming-of-age love story is all texture, tone and nuance…Luca Guadagnino has made a lovely cinematic feather. And it floats down beautifully, riding a soft breeze of melancholy and grace.
 
  December 29, 2017 | Rating: A-
 
  Tom Long
  Detroit News
  TOP CRITIC
  17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet, in his best performance to date) lives with his parents in suburban Northern Italy. Elio’s archaeologist papa (Michael Stuhlbarg) invites an American grad student (the always-wooden Armie Hammer), to spend the summer..
 
  July 7, 2022 | Rating: B-
 
  Frank J. Avella
  Edge Media Network
  Chalamet rocketed from obscurity onto the Hollywood A-List thanks to Call Me By Your Name, and with good reason: he didnt just give a great performance in the film, he gave the best performance of 2017.
 
  March 20, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  David Reddish
  Queerty
  Call Me by Your Name taps into universal emotions that belong to everyone who has loved, and rewards our experience through luscious filmmaking.
 
  March 16, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  Call Me By Your Name is a film that captures a human truth in a way like no others.
 
  March 4, 2022 | Rating: A+
 
  Carson Timar
  ButteredPopcorn
  While it’s the simmering sexual tension that keeps you watching for most of the film, it’s only later that you realise this is a character piece about a man’s bluster and how his confidence does not make him strong.
 
  September 2, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Ben Turner
  The Pink Lens
  The most humane and kind movie in a year that featured so many others filled with anxiety and darkness.
 
  July 20, 2021
 
  Fletcher Powell
  KMUW – Wichita Public Radio…

 

Plot
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, the new film by Luca Guadagnino, is a sensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman. It’s the summer of 1983 in the north of Italy, and Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a precocious 17-year-old young man, spends his days in his family’s 17th-century villa transcribing and playing classical music, reading, and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel). Elio enjoys a close relationship with his father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture, and his mother Annella (Amira Casar), a translator, who favor him with the fruits of high culture in a setting that overflows with natural delights. While Elio’s sophistication and intellectual gifts suggest he is already a fully-fledged adult, there is much that yet remains innocent and unformed about him, particularly about matters of the heart. One day, Oliver (Armie Hammer), a 24-year-old American college graduate student working on his doctorate, arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio’s father. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of the setting, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Michael Stuhlbarg gives a fantastic supporting performance in Call Me By Your Name, and his late film monologue is stirring.
 

 
Luca-Guadagnino.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
John Ford Productions,
 
Distributor
Kino Lorber, Zeitgeist Films
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
Vienna, Austria
 
MPAA / Certificate

 
Year of Release
2018
 

 
Genre(s)
Documentary
 
Keyword(s)
Bombsell, Hedy Lamarr, documentary, inspiring, tragic, Hollywood, technology, inventor, Bluetooth, English, Alexandra Dean, Adam Haggiag, Katherine Drew, written by Alexandra Dean, Mel Brooks, Diane Kruger, Peter Bogdanovich, Richard Rhodes, Bob Osborne, Kino Lorber, Zeitgeist Films, $819.7K, MPAA rating, critic reviews, reviewed by J.R Jones, Brad Newsome, Steve Greene, Wendy Ide, Donald Clarke, Peter Bradshaw, Taylor Baker, Jason Adams, Gisela Savdie, Jason Best, Joanne Laurier, audience score, directed by Alexandra Dean, produced by Adam Haggiag, Katherine Drew, Alexandra Dean
 

Cast & Crew

Mel Brooks

Diane Kruger

Peter Bogdanovich

Richard Rhodes

Bob Osborne

Mel Brooks

Diane Kruger

Peter Bogdanovich

Richard Rhodes

Bob Osborne

Mel Brooks – Self
Diane Kruger – Self
Peter Bogdanovich – Self
Richard Rhodes – Self
Bob Osborne – Self
Hedy Lamarr – Self
Alexandra Dean – Director, Writer
Adam Haggiag – Producer
Katherine Drew – Producer

 

Alexandra Dean

Alexandra Dean

Adam Haggiag

Katherine Drew

Alexandra Dean

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Alexandra Dean
 
Writer(s)
Alexandra Dean
 
Producer(s)
Adam Haggiag, Katherine Drew, Alexandra Dean

 

Film Festivals
Sundance
 
Awards & Nominations
8 wins & 6 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

J. R. Jones

Brad Newsome

Steve Greene

Wendy Ide

Donald Clarke

Chicago Reader

Sydney Morning Herald

indieWire

Observer (UK)

Irish Times

BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY
  All Critics (95) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (90) | Rotten (5)
  Not your usual silver-screen documentary.
 
  March 25, 2020
 
  J. R. Jones
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  A fascinating documentary about Hedy Lamarr, an extraordinary woman who was so much more than the moviegoing public ever imagined.
 
  February 22, 2019
 
  Brad Newsome
  Sydney Morning Herald
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s a reminder that, even for world-famous icons, it’s pointless to reduce people to a single piece of notoriety.
 
  May 21, 2018 | Rating: B+
 
  Steve Greene
  indieWire
  TOP CRITIC
  Dean explores a fascinating life full of contradictions.
 
  March 13, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Wendy Ide
  Observer (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  Bombshell suffers from some common complaints of modern documentary — too much music; unnecessary, if perfectly decent, animated sequences — but it does remind us of a class of personality that doesn’t exist anymore.
 
  March 13, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Donald Clarke
  Irish Times
  TOP CRITIC
  Lamarr was an enigma: a great brain trapped in a silly, spurious image of glamour, while her real talent was allowed to wither. A sad but fascinating story.
 
  March 9, 2018 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  Episode 14: Doc Talk
 
  September 1, 2021 | Rating: 50/100
 
  Taylor Baker
  Drink in the Movies
  Bombshell is a movie a million years in the making. Bombshell is a hand grenade tossed into our current gas-fire of a situation – it’s the movie we need, the story we need, to tell right now
 
  July 2, 2021
 
  Jason Adams
  My New Plaid Pants
  Another story of a smart woman whose talent was unrecognized sufficiently during her lifetime [Full Review in Spanish]
 
  November 8, 2020
 
  Gisela Savdie
  El Heraldo
  Athough a string of famous talking heads – from Mel Brooks to Diane Kruger – pop up here to celebrate Lamarr’s remarkable achievements, the sense of wasted gifts gives director Alexandra Dean’s film an underlying sadness.
 
  October 19, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Jason Best
  Movie Talk
  Bombshell suggests that Lamarr was largely wasted by the film industry, which could make little use of her personality and intellect. ”
 
  August 7, 2020
 
  Joanne Laurier
  World Socialist Web Site
  Director Alexandra Dean gets the most out of a peculiar mix of on-camera interviews, archival footage and recently discovered audiotapes of Lamarr explaining herself posthumously.
 
  June 2, 2020
 
  David Lamble
  Bay Area Reporter…

 

Plot
Hedy Lamarr was a Hollywood movie star who was hailed as the most beautiful and glamorous in the world. However, that was only the surface that tragically obscured her astounding true talents. Foremost of them was her inventive genius that a world blinded by her beauty could not recognize as far back as her youth in Austria with her homemade gadgets. This film explores Lamarr’s life which included escaping a loveless marriage on the eve of Nazi Germany’s conquest of her nation to a new career in Hollywood. However, her intellectual contributions were denied their due even when she offered them in the service of her new home during World War II. Only after years of career and personal decline in her troubled life would Lamarr learn that her staggering aptitude created brilliant engineering concepts that revolutionized telecommunications, which forced the world to realize the hidden abilities of a woman it had so unfairly underestimated.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Mel Brooks and Diane Kruger are among the famous talking heads featured in the documentary.
 

 
Alexandra-Dean.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures, Georgetown Productions Inc., Sean S. Cunningham Films,
 
Distributor
Neon
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
Macon Centreplex, Macon, Georgia, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for pervasive language, violence, and some sexual content/nudity
 
Year of Release
2018
 

 
Genre(s)
Biography/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson, Paul Walter Hauser, Bobby Cannavale, directed by Craig Gillespie, written by Steven Rogers, biography, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Robert Daniels, Nikki Baughan, Tara Brady, Ryan Gilbey, Mark Kermode, Matthew Norman, Jeff Mitchell, Brian Eggert, Drew Dietsch, Matt Brunson, Milana Vujkov, MPAA rating R, figure skating, triple axel, Nancy Kerrigan, scandal, abuse, black humor, emotional resonance, Margot Robbie producer, Bryan Unkeless producer, Steven Rogers writer, Tom Ackerley producer, Dolby Atmos sound mix, Scope aspect ratio
 

Cast & Crew

Margot Robbie

Sebastian Stan

Allison Janney

Julianne Nicholson

Paul Walter Hauser

Tonya Harding

Jeff Gillooly

LaVona Golden

Diane Rawlinson

Shawn Eckhardt

Margot Robbie – Tonya Harding
Sebastian Stan – Jeff Gillooly
Allison Janney – LaVona Golden
Julianne Nicholson – Diane Rawlinson
Paul Walter Hauser – Shawn Eckhardt
Bobby Cannavale – Hard Copy Producer

 

Craig Gillespie

Steven Rogers

Bryan Unkeless

Margot Robbie

Steven Rogers

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Craig Gillespie
 
Writer(s)
Steven Rogers
 
Producer(s)
Bryan Unkeless, Margot Robbie, Steven Rogers, Tom Ackerley

 

Film Festivals
Toronto
 
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
45 wins & 127 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Robert Daniels

Nikki Baughan

Tara Brady

Ryan Gilbey

Mark Kermode

812filmreviews

Sight & Sound

Irish Times

New Statesman

Observer (UK)

I, TONYA
  All Critics (386) | Top Critics (82) | Fresh (346) | Rotten (40)
  How much Harding knew or didn’t know about the attack on Kerrigan is somewhat secondary, if that can be believed.
 
  August 27, 2018 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Robert Daniels
  812filmreviews
  TOP CRITIC
  Gillespie has imbued his film with black humour, while never undermining the authenticity of the characters or detracting from the abuse that runs through the story.
 
  March 6, 2018
 
  Nikki Baughan
  Sight & Sound
  TOP CRITIC
  [Allison Janney’s] undiluted unsentimentality is the perfect compliment for a sporting underdog movie that disobeys the rules.
 
  March 2, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Tara Brady
  Irish Times
  TOP CRITIC
  Craig Gillespie directs with all the subtlety of a baton-wielding thug but has made at least one brilliant decision in casting Margot Robbie, who is practically a machine for generating empathy.
 
  March 1, 2018
 
  Ryan Gilbey
  New Statesman
  TOP CRITIC
  Whatever your views on the US in general and Harding in particular, you’ll leave this cheering for Margot Robbie. Bravo!
 
  February 25, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Mark Kermode
  Observer (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  It leaves a sense of several stronger movies half-buried beneath a mish-mash of the poignantly heart-rending and the outlandishly farcical, and just about salvaged from mediocrity by its one sensational turn.
 
  February 23, 2018 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Matthew Norman
  London Evening Standard
  TOP CRITIC
  Margot Robbie and director Craig Gillespie do the impossible: they turn Tonya Harding, 1994’s most vilified American, into a sympathetic figure. My #2 movie of 2017.
 
  July 4, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Jeff Mitchell
  Art House Film Wire
  The result is one part Tonya’s personal truth of the events, one part reveling in junk food news, and another part media critique. Still, the joys of this film should not be understated.
 
  March 16, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  I, Tonya is a wickedly funny and equally depressing piece of cinema that has a lot more on its mind than most fluffier biopics.
 
  December 29, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
  Drew Dietsch
  FANDOM
  I, Tonya adopts the right tone to relate the factual tale of the whacked kneecap, spinning it in a darkly comedic direction.
 
  August 31, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Matt Brunson
  Film Frenzy
  There’s great heart in Margot Robbie taking on a national joke, a secondhand villain, and turning her into a quiet hero.
 
  July 29, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Milana Vujkov
  Lola On Film
  I, Tonya is far from your typical biopic, and it’s all the better for it. Buoyed by sharp, fun storytelling and Oscar-worthy performances, it’s exactly the type of movie this story deserved.
 
  May 26, 2021
 
  Alex Bentley
  CultureMap…

 

Plot
From the proverbial wrong side of the tracks in Portland, Oregon, former competitive figure skater Tonya Harding was never fully accepted in the figure skating community for not inherently being the image of grace, breeding and privilege that the community wanted to portray, despite she being naturally gifted in the sport athletically. Despite ultimately garnering some success in figure skating being national champion, a world championship medalist, an Olympian, and being the first American woman to complete a Triple Axel in competition, she is arguably best known for her association to “the incident”: the leg bashing on January 6, 1994 of her competitor, Nancy Kerrigan, who, unlike Tonya, was everything that the figure-skating community wanted in their representatives. Her association to that incident led to Tonya being banned from competitive figure skating for life. Tonya’s story from the beginning of her figure-skating life at age four to the aftermath of the incident is presented. Besides Tonya herself, key people in her life give their perspective of their role in her life. Although they may agree on the broad issues at hand, such as that the incident did occur, they may vary widely in their recollection of the facts. These people are: her waitress mother Lavona Golden, who despite having paid for her expensive figure-skating lessons, was abusive toward her physically and emotionally, never believing she being good enough in any aspect of the word, and who pulled her from school to focus solely on the figure skating; Diane Rawlinson, her first and longest serving coach, who, for good or bad, largely let Tonya be Tonya in the way she presented herself to the figure skating world; Jeff Gillooly, her first husband, the two who also had a turbulent relationship on a need to be loved perhaps without truly loving the other; Jeff’s friend and Tonya’s bodyguard Shawn Eckardt, a dim bulb who believed himself to be a bigger player in the big scheme of life than he actually was; and sports journalist Martin Maddox, a fictional character who provides general commentary of what the sports media as a collective wanted out of Tonya and the incident.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Allison Janney’s performance as Tonya Harding’s mother is “undiluted unsentimentality” and the “perfect compliment for a sporting underdog movie that disobeys the rules.”
 

 
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