Review by Sean Boelman

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Review by Camden Ferrell

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, it’s time to focus on the holiday season, and that means an abundance of Christmas movies for audiences to see. One such movie is Violent Night. From director Tommy Wirkola, this promises to be a different type of Christmas movie that may surprise you in more ways than one. While on the surface, it can be a fairly basic and cheesy homage to movies like Die Hard and Home Alone, this movie doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to its gory violence or foul humor.
 
This movie follows the one and only Santa Claus. However, this isn’t the jolly old man we loved as kids. In this movie, Santa, despite being dedicated to what he does, is a heavy drinker and a cynical and snarky person. One Christmas eve, he finds himself trying to fight off a group of mercenaries as they try and steal a fortune from a wealthy family. As mentioned before, this movie utilizes tropes and ideas from other holiday movies, but it still has a lot of fun with it.
 
The script is hit or miss for the most part. It has the standard forced Christmas dialogue you can expect, but what was unexpected was the plethora of swears and crude jokes made between the family, the mercenaries, and Santa. It’s quite predictable with its plot, but it does have a lot of fun with its premise and inspirations and is an enjoyable basis for the movie. 

The performances this from this movie may not be impressive, but it’s clear how much fun literally every person is having. The movie is led by David Harbour who finally gives us his first really solid leading performance as Santa. He is quite funny throughout and excels with all of the action and violence. The supporting cast is also surprisingly strong consisting of but not limited to John Leguizamo, Alex Hassell, and Edi Patterson. Everyone has great chemistry and is going insane on screen with the movie’s R rating.
 
What stands out most about this movie is how far it’s willing to push its over the top and bloody violence. There are several great action scenes and fight scenes that are hilariously and captivatingly graphic. There is no shortage of blood or creative manners of killing from Santa and everyone else. This aspect is what really made the movie enjoyable and made it stand out in the genre. There are a handful of violent moments that catch you off guard and are entirely delightful to see with a crowd of people.
 
Take away the swearing and blood, and you’re left with an average Christmas movie, but Violent Night knows what the movie needs to be a truly fun time at the theater. It can get a bit slow towards the middle, but its exhilarating and violent final act makes up for that easily. This is definitely a movie to watch without young children, and if you go in expecting a fun and violent holiday flick, you’ll be satisfied.
 
Violent Night is in theaters December 2.
 
Rating: 3.5/5

Review by Cole Groth

The opening shot of Four Samosas immediately reveals what we can expect from the goofy, slightly forgettable comedy/heist film from second-time director Ravi Kapoor. His cinematic choice to opt for a 4:3 aspect ratio and his somewhat uniquely entertaining direction looks distinctly like a Wes Anderson film. The heavy Bollywood influences and a good sense of specificity to South Asian culture aren’t often found in American indie films. These elements make for an entirely original yet far-from-perfect release.

The premise of this film is immediately promising. An aspiring rapper Vinny, played by a hilarious Venk Potula, gathers a ragtag crew of social rejects to steal diamonds from his ex-girlfriend’s (Sonal Shah) family. He hopes that if he can bankrupt her family, he can get them to cancel a wedding between her ex and her new, very douchey fiancée (Karan Soni). The goofy cast makes for a few laughs, but the script isn’t nearly ambitious enough to keep the comedy flowing. While the first half is a series of relatively unconnected scenes, the second half comes together in a strangely entertaining heist sequence.

The sheer ridiculousness of the heist is one of the most exciting parts of the movie. Each character cross-dresses as a senior citizen and dons a horrible accent while attempting to rob the grocery store her dad owns of an ample supply of diamonds. Since the crew’s quirkiness and stupidity are the most entertaining part of the film, it might be easy for audiences to overlook the weak motivations of any of the characters involved. Vinny has almost no chemistry with his ex, so his goal of breaking up her wedding seems pointless.

Ravi Kapoor’s direction is highly stylized. The shot composition and camera movement are a lot of fun and show that he has much promise as a director, but he’d be better off not writing his scripts in the future. While the dialogue is pretty funny, the characters are all one-dimensional, and their world feels empty. Setting the film in Little India is a good choice, but it feels like it doesn’t take place in America. It would’ve been much better to juxtapose the Indian culture with characters from other cultures. Since only one group of people is focused on, the story is compromised in scale.

Although the film’s scale isn’t that great, what Kapoor gives us is still fun enough to be a commendable job. It leans too much into Wes Anderson-ian quirkiness but manages to be very charming by the end. Four Samosas is clearly a passion project from the crew behind it. It’s rough around the edges, but that’s a good comparison to the rest of the film. Each ridiculous character is unrefined yet very entertaining. If you’re a Bollywood fan or want to support solid indie filmmaking, you should check this out. Otherwise, it might be a bit unmemorable to most audiences.

Four Samosas releases in theaters and on-demand on December 2nd.

Rating: 3/5

Review by Sean Boelman

Review by Dan Skip Allen

The Texas Killing Fields was a 2011 film based on a series of murders over several years in the '70s, '80s, and '90s. It had a great cast, including Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Jeffery Dean Morgan, and was directed by Ami Canaan Mann. The documentary series, Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields, 11 years later from Netflix, is based on the same story as the film.

In the 1980s and '90s, a series of murders started happening in Texas around Calder Road Field, which is adjacent to the I45 corridors, which has become known as the Texas Killing Fields. When a fourth body is found, people become concerned that this is a deprived serial killer. Police in League City, Texas are baffled by this series of murders. This was preceded by a series of killings in the 1970s in the same area. How could all this be just a coincidence? 

It features various people involved in the murders. One of them is a parent of one of the dead girls, Tim Miller, and there are multiple other talking heads. It also features reenactments, archival footage, and narration over the film. It's the type of extensive docu-series for which Netflix has become known lately. Reporters and writers are also interviewed to give some substance to this story. 

Various suspects are brought up by people who live in the area and have studied the series of murders. The FBI profiled the case, and they came up with their own killer. Everybody started to get worried because their suspicions were wrong. Forensics at this time weren't at today's level, so things didn't go as well as they had hoped once the profile was sent down. ​

Review by Adam Donato

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Review by Tatiana Miranda

Most well-known for its controversial sexual content, D.H. Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterley's Lover has received the Netflix treatment; its 1928 private publication has been updated for the 21st century via a feature-length film. Starring Emma Corrin as the titular Lady Chatterley, the film is clearly marketed toward fans of steamy period pieces, most notably Bridgerton. The plot centers around Lady Chatterley's husband's injury from the first World War, which causes his inability to fulfill her sexually. Due to her sexual frustration and his want for an heir, Lady Chatterley begins to have an affair with someone that everyone around her seems to disapprove of — her husband's gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors. ​

With its plot of secret romance and sexual liberation, Lady Chatterley's Lover appears to be a prime contender for a 21st-century adaption. Still, through a modern lens, the film's key subjects lose the nuance they had over a hundred years ago. Instead, its subtly shot sex scenes appear lackluster in comparison to other sex-positive period pieces being released today. Although Corrin and Jack O'Connell, who portrays Mellors, give it their all in terms of chemistry, the sex scenes end up feeling awkward and unfeeling. Between the lack of communication between Chatterley and Mellors and their hasty sexual encounters, the "love" between them that other characters allude to feels out of place. 

Beyond the romantic and sexual nature of the plot of the book, Lawrence also takes note of Mellors and Chatterley's class differences. The film adaptation hints at this, with the occasional commentary on local mining conditions and Mellors's profession. Still, this aspect takes a backseat to the more romantic tone of the source material. There are times when this feels like a solid choice, as the film already surpasses two hours, and other times where it feels that, by losing this commentary, Lady Chatterley's Lover becomes just another sex-filled period piece.

In the end, the sex scenes of Lady Chatterley's Lover outweigh the social commentary, yet they don't feel warranted enough to give the film romantic merit. The film ends up feeling like a jumbled yet aesthetically pleasing mess. The extremely talented cast doesn't help with the confusion, as their captivating character portrayals tend to distract from the disjointed nature of the film's intent. Does Lady Chatterley's Lover want to be a romance movie or erotica? Whichever it is, the film hardly achieves it and instead leaves the audience feeling disappointed in how they spent the last two hours.

Lady Chatterley's Lover premiers in select theaters on November 23 and on Netflix on December 2.​

Rating: 2/5

Review by Cole Groth

“Directed by Steven Spielberg” automatically elevates any film’s prestige. It’s a statement that anyone who enjoys movies will recognize and hold to a high standard. How does one of the greatest directors create a film about his life? The Fabelmans is the answer. Spielberg’s latest is the (literal) story of a lifetime. It’s a film that celebrates the art of movie-making and will move audiences of all kinds when it releases.

The opening introduces us to the Fabelmans, a beautifully dysfunctional family loosely based on Spielberg’s childhood. A young Samuel “Sammy” Fabelman (Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord) is taken to see his first-ever movie, which ignites a spark in his life that, unbeknownst to him, he will follow forever. Burt (Paul Dano) is his strict yet endearing father, and Mitzi (Michelle Williams) is his artistic and emotional mother. After receiving a train model for Hanukkah and subsequently crashing it, he gets a camera and records the crash with it. An older Sammy (Gabriel LaBelle) finds happiness in making short films with his family, including sisters Reggie (Julia Butters), Natalie (Keeley Karsten), and Lisa (Sophia Kopera).
​
The Fabelmans are perfectly written by Spielberg and Tony Kushner as a family unit to replicate many people’s experiences with their families. Each argument and emotional moment shared between the family feels realistic, which makes the audience feel more involved in the story that follows. Standing at an extraordinary 151 minutes long, we’re given ample time to learn how every character works. This long runtime allows for great scenes, such as when Boris (Judd Hirsch), Sammy’s great uncle, arrives for a night and explains how Sammy will have to balance his life as an artist and a family member. The script’s most potent moments lie in the relationship between Sammy and Mitzi. This mother-son duo has to continually reconcile their differences as they grow through life, just like typical families do. It’s hard not to get emotional at least once throughout this because of how relatable it can be. Whether you’re somebody who’s yearned to be a filmmaker, a person with a strained familial relationship, or if you’ve always dreamed of something bigger than yourself, you’ll find something that resonates with you.

Spielberg’s story is not quite as grand of a scale as the trailers would have you believe, with the family drama being one of the most dominating elements of the movie. Fortunately, the drama is incredible. Once Sammy moves to a new high school, he has to confront the effect of his Jewishness on how the world views him. Many of his classmates are grossly antisemitic, a theme that proves to be remarkably prescient. In contrast to the religious drama, as far as Spielberg’s movies go, this is one of his funniest films yet. After getting beat up one day, Sammy meets Monica (Chloe East), his love interest with whom he has his first kiss in an unbelievably funny scene. Since the film occasionally gets depressing, Spielberg and Kushner smartly work in little quips to keep the tone feeling fresh.

The performances from many of the cast members are standouts and will undoubtedly fall onto the radar of voters for this year’s Oscars. Michelle Williams is a clear frontrunner for Best Actress, which makes sense after her breathless performance as Mitzi. Her tenderness shines through each scene, and she is one of the most complex characters in Spielberg’s filmography. Gabriel LaBelle is perfect as Sammy. He’s a caring presence who effortlessly portrays the complexities of growing up and what it’s like to have a passion. Paul Dano is incredible as a stern, tough-loving father who represents the core values of an older America. Seth Rogen gives his most outstanding performance yet as Bennie, a family friend who’s more complicated than he appears. Julia Butters is excellent as Sammy’s little sister, and I hope to see her in more stuff soon. The rest of the cast is directed to deliver their best performances thanks to the excellent script and director.

Technically, The Fabelmans is excellent. Janusz Kamiński’s cinematography emphasizes the magic of movie-making and moves us through multiple modes of film to achieve the emotional goals of Spielberg’s story. While the runtime is just over two and a half hours, it’s hard to notice that it’s that long. However, there are moments where the pacing is slightly off as if there was just one more cut that needed to be made to make this perfect. John Williams’s score is impressive, but it’s simply not in enough of the film to be thoroughly impactful. These minor issues don’t distract from the experience as a whole but keep the movie from being perfect.
​
2022 has been a great year for film, and while The Fabelmans might not be the definitive best of the year, it’s hard to argue that this is anything less than a masterpiece. It’s a primarily personal movie that works on every level. It’s an emotionally moving and technically stellar work of art that could have been director than none other than one of the greatest directors ever. Make no doubt about Steven Spielberg: he’s still able to make an enormously entertaining epic about anything. You can look forward to this receiving many nominations at this year’s Oscars, and it undeniably deserves most of them.

The Fabelmans releases exclusively in theaters on November 23rd.

Rating: 4.5/5