From just its synopsis and promotional material, writer-director Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter will seem familiar. It’s a crime-revenge thriller grappling with themes of atonement, forgiveness, and the role of […]
Alexander Harrison
Alex Harrison is an emerging film critic getting a Masters in Film Studies in his spare time
Posted inArts & Entertainment
What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “The Green Knight”
The title of David Lowrey’s The Green Knight, now available for online rental after spending some time exclusively in theaters, strikes me as particularly important. The film adapts Sir Gawain […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “Coda”
After premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival to quick acclaim, culminating in multiple award wins, Siân Heder’s CODA broke the festival acquisition record when Apple paid over $25 million […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
What’s Up at the Movies: We review “Zola”
There is very little about Janicza Bravo’s Zola that isn’t interesting. Its twisty, shocking, (mostly) true story is adapted from a viral thread of 148 tweets by A’Ziah “Zola” King […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “Black Widow”
Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been waiting a long time for Black Widow, and not just because the pandemic delayed it a year. Since being introduced in 2010’s […]
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What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “Censor”
A movie having a knockout premise can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, the creative team gets to work from a great starting point, and […]
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What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “In the Heights”
In the Heights is one of the many movies coming out this year that was meant to have released in 2020, and in this case, the delay feels like a […]
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What’s Up at the Movies: We review “A Quiet Place, Part II”
Watching the prologue of A Quiet Place Part II, which returns to the day that the noise-sensitive monsters of the first film arrived on Earth, I realized that post-apocalyptic cinema […]
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What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “Cruella”
It’s not controversial to say Disney’s recent string of live-action reboots, despite routinely making enormous amounts of money, have been pretty weak. Even when there are talented creatives behind them […]
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What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “The Underground Railroad”
Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad, a ten-episode miniseries available to stream on Amazon Prime, is the latest example of what I like to call the chaptered movie. It’s a form […]
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What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “Those Who Wish Me Dead”
There are times when my target wordcount for these reviews feels restricting, when I run out of space after only scratching the surface of what I wanted to say and […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Column
What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “Monster”
A movie’s road to distribution is not always a straight line, and sometimes, through no fault of its own, it ends up releasing a few years late. Monster, the feature […]
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What’s Up at the Movies: We review “The Mitchells vs The Machines”
Sitting atop the expanding heap of streaming services, Netflix is a major, accessible platform, but it hardly guarantees a wide audience. There’s always the chance for something to take the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “Mortal Kombat”
Hollywood has a troubled history with video games. While they sometimes generate nice returns at the box office, video game adaptations never score above mixed with critics (the best reception […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Column
What’s Up at the Movies: 2021 Oscar Picks from Film Critic Alexander Harrison
In my Academy Awards Snubs feature last week, I wrote that debating the nominations is part of the fun of the annual Oscars-madness, and I certainly enjoyed it – it’s […]
Posted inNews
What’s Up at the Movies: We review “Nobody”
If the financial success of Godzilla vs Kong is any indication, moviegoers are in need of some mindless entertainment, and while you won’t find me endorsing a (fundamentally misguided) argument […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Column
What’s Up at the Movies: Academy Award Snubs
Like it or not, the Academy Awards are a big deal. Even if you consider some of the festival prizes more prestigious, the Oscars generate an enormous amount of attention […]
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What’s Up at the Movies: We review the Oscar “Shorts”
Unless they are paired with the latest Pixar movie, short films tend to go unnoticed by the general viewing public. They offer filmmakers at the beginning of their career a […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
What’s up at the Movies: We review Godzilla vs. Kong
While last year still saw some great new releases, movie theaters all but disappeared in 2020, and one type of movie in particular disappeared right along with them: blockbusters. Other […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “The Father”
Most of this year’s Academy Awards contenders were widely available when the nominations dropped earlier this month. The exception? Florian Zeller’s The Father, which picked up six nods to put […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Column
What’s Up at the movies: We review Zach Snyder’s Justice League
It’s not unusual these days for a superhero movie to be a major cultural event, but Zack Snyder’s Justice League is different. For the uninitiated: Zack Snyder was the director […]
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What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “Cherry”
With everyone preoccupied on whether movie theaters will survive the pandemic, it’s easy to miss the streaming revolution happening right beneath our feet: Netflix and Hulu aren’t the game’s only […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “Raya and the Last Dragon”
Continuing their experiment in the world of digital releases, Disney has made their new animated film Raya and the Last Dragon simultaneously available in theaters and on their streaming service, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “Minari”
I am not someone who pays more than cursory attention to the Golden Globes, but to address one of its many controversies before the ceremony tomorrow: Minari, regardless of the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
What’s Up at the Movies: We Review “Nomadland”
If you’re someone who follows the world of cinema, you’ve heard of Nomadland – this staple of best-of-2020 lists from Chloé Zhao became the first film to ever win the […]
