Posts by James Roberts

Rating C+ The thing about Paul Thomas Anderson is that his talent is so great that even his bad movies are, well, pretty good. His technique and craft are such that his worst movie still has plenty worth noting and considering. Inherent Vice was, by most accounts, not a great movie. And yet there was […]

RATING B+ Strictly speaking, no, we did not need another Matrix. That’s arguably been true since 1999 when the first movie came and blew everyone’s minds with its reality-bending story, mind-melting effects, and evolution of the cyberpunk aesthetic that felt perfect for the turn of the century milieu in which it existed. The next two […]

RATING – C+ It isn’t difficult to understand why director Steven Spielberg wanted to remake West Side Story. The original film adaptation of the Steven Sondheim musical is, perhaps, one of the most influential movies of Spielberg’s generation. That film, from directors Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, set a gold standard for both musical films […]

The wild and unexpected popularity of Cobra Kai—whose fourth season premieres on Netflix on December 31—has naturally led to a rise in interest in the films that birthed the surprise streaming hit. It was difficult to grow up in the 80s without idolizing Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi and now, parents ourselves, we can finally […]

Rating- B The last couple of decades have really forced a reconsideration of what the western is as a genre. As we creep further and further into the 21st century, so, too, has the genre progressed. Once firmly set in a world pre-Civil War, the modern western finds itself creeping into the 20th century, where […]