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Anomalisa - Portrait of a Dilhole
It’s nice to get another Charlie Kaufman movie! His last feature; Synecdoche, New York, came out in 2008 to middling reviews. Some people got it, others didn’t; I loved it. He’s such a weird dude with such a distinct style that I’m not...
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Mustang - An Intimate Examination at an Archaic Society
The essence of human nature is to maintain power and control. The system has often tipped in favor of Caucasian males, mainly because a select few have fixed it to do so. This has continued to be the way things were for several centuries. Within the...
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The Revenant - Blood and Guts and Horse Carcasses
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has a reputation for making movies filled with emotional and sometimes physical brutality. His most famous effort, last year’s best picture winner Birdman was no different. It had the appearance of a comedy, but was...
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Joy - Great Cast and Decent Ideas Hampered by Misguided Choices
I was surprised to discover that David O. Russell as a filmmaker is actually fairly divisive. I really liked Silver Linings Playbook, and still revisit it. I liked American Hustle at the time, but I don’t think back on it very much. So I didn’t...
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The Big Short - Condescending and About 30 Minutes Too Long
I loved Anchorman, Adam McKay’s comedy from 2004. I watched that film dozens upon dozens of times when I was younger, and I still really like it now. With The Big Short, McKay ventures into Oscar-bait drama. The Big Short follows several key...
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Carol - Tragic, Gorgeous, and Immersive
Despite strides made in the course of the last ten years or so, the stories of LGBT people still remain largely untold. One could still file something like Carol as a “lesbian Brokeback Mountain” for ease of dismissal, but that does this...
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The Hateful Eight - Tarantino, The Hateful Great
Quentin Tarantino is, if nothing else, a filmmaker with a very distinct style. You can spot Tarantino-isms, and if you hear news of his next project, you can figure out what you’d think of it right then and there. He is always divisive, but in...
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Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens - *sobs into pillow*
“Last call!” I was a little tipsy. I had been drinking for several hours, and it was getting to be very early in the morning. “God, I can’t believe it.” I mumbled to myself, as I had over the past two hours. “You’ve been...
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Spotlight - Tom McCarthy's Masterpiece
SPOTLIGHT is a masterstroke, the greatest effort to date of director, co-screenwriter and former journalist Tom McCarthy, and deserves a spot in the top tier of the best films of 2015. Films about journalists fascinate me because oftentimes to truly...
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Creed - Rocky Who?
I’m not the biggest ROCKY fan. I mean, I like the first one just fine, how could you not? It’s one of those classic feel-good films where if you don’t like it, I’m not entirely sure you like happy feelings. Hyperbole aside, it was a very...
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The Good Dinosaur - Lazy, Lazy Pixar
THE GOOD DINOSAUR feels like PIXAR scrapping together a movie from the pieces of a million other movies. It is well made, and well animated, but an absolute slog to sit through. It is so obvious in its efforts to be cutesy, and so hollow, that I...
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Room - To Form a Connection with The Audience
ROOM is paced and acted like a thriller initially, and as that it is one of the best films of the year. Add in all of the extra factors at play and the film is one of the most emotional sits I’ve had in a movie theater in a while. It is an...
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Brooklyn - Back in My Day ~
We are in a constant state of evolution, and in that state of evolution we tend to look upon older generations with disgust. There were never struggles there, no stories to be told, they were just cavemen and cavewomen that did not have the...
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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II - An Ambitious Effort Marred By Its Own Design
With all of these Young Adult adaptations being split into two parts it’s amazing that HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS was actually somehow able to pull it off. This is, I believe, because of the sheer size of that book, there was enough...
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Spectre - Middle of the Road Bond
How do you keep James Bond fresh at this point? The series is at its midlife crisis (53 years!) at a point where the series can’t necessarily always count on relying on its formula. However, the Bond formula works on me. Very rarely will I see a...
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Steve Jobs - Aaron Sorkin, the Drama Queen
He is a talented writer, but I will confess to not being the biggest Aaron Sorkin fan in the world. He is definitely a Hollywood embellisher, and I think that sometimes works against him. It bothered me in THE WEST WING (while I understand why...
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Bridge of Spies - A Masterpiece of Dialogue
I didn’t know what to make of this one going in. I certainly like Spielberg, but this looked like a milquetoast film intended to bait the Academy. His latest collaboration with Tom Hanks thankfully is one of their strongest. BRIDGE OF SPIES is a...
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The Walk - Doesn't Always Gel, But Genuinely Charming
The first time I saw promos for THE WALK, I had mixed feelings. The film looked good, and atmospheric; but at the same time it seemed redundant and Joseph Gordon-Levitt seemed miscast as a Frenchman. His French accent sounded less realistic and more...
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The Martian - Best Science Fiction Film in a Decade
I love the early works of Ridley Scott. BLADE RUNNER is one of my favorite movies, and films like ALIEN are masterpieces. It’s because of BLADE RUNNER and ALIEN that some of his recent films have been so disappointing. THE COUNSELOR was decent,...
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Grandma - Essential and Entertaining
Dir: Chris Weitz Written by: Chris Weitz Starring: Lily Tomlin, Sam Elliot, Julia Garner, Laverne Cox, Marcia Gay Harden, Judy Greer Abortion is still a provocative issue. There is plenty of blatant misinformation and very rarely will you see...
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Black Mass - A disappointing, mediocre gangster film
A Review by: Jeff Turner Dir: Scott Cooper Written by: Mark Mallouk, Jez Butterworth Starring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Plemons, Julianne Nicholson. Johnny Depp was the go-to character actor of the 90’s. Whether it was...
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The Look of Silence - Peering into the Shady Grey Depths
A Review by: Jeff Turner Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer We often use movies for escapism. We want to see action, mayhem! However, a film will come along that focuses on the fragility of mortality, and the permanency of death. Joshua...
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Mistress America (2015)
My review of the latest Noah Baumbach film!
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War Room (2015)
My review of the latest Religious movie and box office smash, WAR ROOM!
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The End of the Tour (2015)
A look at the new film by James Ponsoldt about author David Foster Wallace!
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Straight Outta Compton (2015)
My review of the box office smash about N.W.A.!
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Jeff Turner on Craig's List!
Writer for hire! I do screenplays, essays, and short fiction!
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The Gift (2015)
My review of the new thriller, THE GIFT!
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Fant4stic (2015)
My review of the superhero film, FANTASTIC FOUR!
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Mission Impossible - Rouge Nation (2015)
My review of the new Tom Cruise movie!
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Pixels (2015)
My review of the new Adam Sandler film, PIXELS!
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Trainwreck (2015). A review of Amy Schumer's Film Debut
My review of Amy Schumer's wonderful star-making vehicle!
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Ant-Man (2015)
My review of the surprisingly passable Marvel flick, Ant-Man!
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The Gallows (2015)
My review of the god awful new found footage movie, THE GALLOWS.
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Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)
My review of the independent dramedy ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL!
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Dope (2015)
My review of the crime-comedy, Dope!
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Terminator: Genisys (2015)
My review of the latest effort to revive the Terminator franchise, Terminator: Genisys!
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Jurassic World (2015)
Everybody seems to be in love with Jurassic World. Its breaking box office records, it has the biggest global opening ever. My thoughts? The film is pretty bloody mediocre.
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Spy (2015)
Spy is the finest film Paul Feig (director of Bridesmaids) has made thus far!
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Inside Out (2015)
I have been watching Pixar movies practically since exiting the womb. Many of their films are so consistently delightful that they easily hold up against the test of time.
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The Salvation (2015)
My review of the Mads Mikkelsen western, THE SALVATION!
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Cinderella: A Review by Jeff Turner (2015)
One of my older reviews of the new CINDERELLA!
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Insurgent (2015)
My review of the latest DIVERGENT film, INSURGENT!
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Aloha (2015)
My review of the latest Cameron Crowe film, ALOHA!
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Far From the Madding Crowd (2015)
My review of the terrific new adaptation of Far From the Madding Crowd!
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Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)
My review of recent smash hit, PITCH PERFECT 2!
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Entourage (2015)
My review of the Entourage movie!
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Gone Girl (2014)
One of my older reviews of one of my favorite films from last year, David Fincher's Gone Girl!
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Fury (2014): A Review by Jeff Turner
One of my older reviews of the war film Fury!
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Dear White People (2014)
One of my older reviews of the comedy Dear White People!
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John Wick (2014)
One of my older reviews of John Wick!
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Nightcrawler (2014)
One of my older reviews of Nightcrawler!
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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (2014)
An older review of the most recent Hunger Games film!
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Interstellar (2014)
One of my older reviews, of the Science fiction film Interstellar!
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Whiplash (2014)
One of my older reviews, of the best picture nominee Whiplash!
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The Theory of Everything (2014)
One of my early reviews, of the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything!
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Birdman (2014)
One of my older reviews, of the best picture winner Birdman!
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Citizenfour (2014)
One of my older reviews, of the Edward Snowden documentary Citizenfour!
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The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2014)
One of my older reviews, of The Tale of the Princess Kaguya!
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American Sniper (2014)
One of my older reviews of the Chris Kyle biopic, American Sniper!
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Top Five (2014)
One of my older reviews, of the Chris Rock comedy Top Five!
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The Interview (2014): An exclusive review by Jeff Turner
My review of the controversial film, The Interview!
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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
One of my older reviews, of the final Hobbit film, The Battle of the Five Armies!
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Unbroken: The Unbelievable True Story (2014)
One of my older reviews, of Angelina Jolie's adaptation of the Louie Zamperini biography, Unbroken!
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Foxcatcher (2014)
One of my older reviews of the Steve Carrell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Rufallo movie Foxcatcher!
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The Imitation Game (2014)
One of my older reviews, of the Oscar-nominated Imitation Game!
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Selma (2014)
One of my older reviews, of one of my favorite films of 2014, SELMA!
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In Defense of Max Rockatansky
If you saw Mad Max: Fury Road, then you saw that Max wasn't really in it very much. What I intend to argue is that this is not out of resentment for the character, but its a reinvention.
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Inherent Vice (2014)
One of my older reviews, of the Paul Thomas Anderson masterpiece, INHERENT VICE!
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Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015)
One of my older reviews, this one of Hot Tub Time Machine 2! (I didn't like it)
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Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
My review of Mad Max: Fury Road! The best film of the year so far!
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Jeff Turner's Top 10 Worst Films of 2014
My Top 10 Least Favorite Films from 2014.
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Jeff Turner's 20 Favorite Films of 2014
My 20 favorite films from last year.
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Do You Believe? (2015)
One of my older reviews, of the Religious movie Do You Believe? (Can't put an exclamation point there *laugh track*)
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Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
One of my older reviews, this of the infamous Fifty Shades of Grey!
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Hits (2015)
One of my older reviews, of the David Cross comedy Hits!
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It Follows (2015)
One of my older reviews, this of It Follows! A film I am very fond of!
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Furious 7 (2015)
One of my older reviews, this one of Furious 7!
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Chappie (2015)
Here's one of my older reviews of Chappie, or its working title, Short Circuit 3: The Gritty Reboot.
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Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Like a sore on your butt that you just can’t get rid of (I really should get that checked) the Avengers are back! The Marvel Cinematic Universe is certainly persistent and its definitely pervasive.
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Ex Machina (2015)
EX MACHINA, the directoral debut of 28 DAYS LATER screenwriter Alex Garland has a premise about men and the evolution of artificial intelligence, but underneath its surface it is a deep film.
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Regarding the Need For Diversity In Art
So I’ve made the argument in opposition of “diversity for diversity’s sake” on twitter a few times and I see that said argument gets a lot of opposition.
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Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 (2015)
Well I wasn’t expecting this so soon. Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison productions had been teasing a big reveal for their own cinematic universe, but to see it introduced in PAUL BLART MALL COP 2 is undoubtedly pretty audacious. Adam Sandler as a producer had always been compared to the great Orson...