THE OPTIMIST - MOVIE REVIEWS

        This weekend, amidst the insane wake of Black Panther's incredible success, a couple of new films opened that many may not get around to seeing until after their second or third go-around of Marvel's latest flick. I get that, I do. Black Panther is an amazing piece of cinema and should be seen by all, multiple times. That being said, I watched a film last night on it's opening night, that stuck with me so much after viewing it that I had to see it again. As I write this I am a couple hours removed from my second viewing of the sci-fi flick Annihilation , and my mind is still spinning. After spending time really digesting this film, I can't help but think of what a masterful piece of cinema it truly is. I was blown away upon my first viewing, and I went into the second this afternoon thinking "Now that I've seen it I'll be able to catch certain things more clearly." Truth be told, I did catch things in a different light, and by the time the

     Every now and then, a movie comes along that simply and unabashedly surprises you. When this happens, your perceived expectations fly out the window and you are left to absorb an experience you had no idea existed. That was my experience with this weekend's new comedy Game Night . Upon first viewing the trailer for this film, I expected a fairly straight-forward, paint-by-numbers comedy that would double down on unsuccessful, reoccurring jokes, with a bland and hollow story. Well, never judge a book by its cover, people. Game Night has the proper mixture of a great cast, clever writing, insane comic timing, and surprising moments that make for a delicious night out to the movies. I laughed so hard and so much watching this movie that I was genuinely taken back, and equally full of joy. I'll say it off the top: this movie is a win across the board.    The story is fairly simple. Max and Annie (played by Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams) are game fanatics. Every week t

        Based on David Levithan's acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Every Day tells the story of a shy 16-year-old girl named Rhiannon (Angourie Rice), who falls in love with a mysterious individual self-named "A." The interesting thing about this "A" is that each morning "A" wakes up inhabiting a different body. Feeling an unmatched connection, and hopelessly optimistic that this relationship will work, Rhiannon and "A" work each day to find each other, not knowing what or who the next day will bring. The more the two fall in love, the more the realities of loving someone who is a different person every 24 hours takes a toll, leaving Rhiannon and "A" to face the hardest decision either has ever had to make. I had the chance to see this last week during a pre-screening and, well...let's get into it.    Upon the first viewing of a trailer for Every Day , I could have sworn it was just another Nicholas Sparks movie. If I&

       The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is celebrating their 10th anniversary this year. That's right. It's been ten years since the first Iron Man surprised audiences with its awesomeness, initiating what would eventually become a groundbreaking cinematic achievement. 2018 is going to be a great year for the MCU, seeing both Ant-Man and the Wasp and Avengers: Infinity War releasing in a matter of months. However, the first to kick things off this year is the highly anticipated Black Panther . When Captain America: Civil War came out, Black Panther was arguably one of the biggest standouts, and a personal favorite of yours truly. As a fan, I've been looking forward to this film since T'Challa first set foot on the screen in Civil War , and now he's here and it is amazing. This film is beautiful, engaging, intimate, and a thrill ride if ever there was one. It may be the initial buzz off of the first viewing, but I think Black Panther is one of my favorite

     As competition for our time heats up amongst the giants of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and other streaming companies, the movie industry has begun to shift perspective. Adapt or die, right? Well, the world witnessed history this past week when, during the Super Bowl, Netfilx and Paramount Studios released a trailer for an unknown movie called The Cloverfield Paradox , the third in the quirky franchise. The kicker was that this movie wasn't going to be coming to a theater near you, but straight to Netflix that very night! There's always been an air of mystery surrounding the Cloverfield franchise, and this sort of mysterious marketing was a perfect way to generate buzz. I thought it was a genius move, frankly. For a film produced by a major motion picture studio to be bought and released via streaming just goes to show how the film industry could possibly shift its gears in order to maintain viewership. The numbers of patrons heading out to the cinema aren't nearly as hig

      So, before I get into my review of the new horror film Winchester , which opens this weekend, I feel the need to illustrate my experience with the viewing of this film. I arrived at the theater approximately thirty minutes before the show started, which was at 7pm. There was a Live Streamed Event option for the showing, which I thought would be cool to see. Sometimes movies do that, and the filmmakers will come out and yak about the movie before you actually see the thing. Anyway, I procured my popcorn, snacks and drink and was in my seat fifteen minutes before show time. As I sat down, an older couple came in and plopped down in the row in front of me, a few seats down to the left. No biggie, or so I thought. For the remaining fifteen minutes before the lights when down and the event started, this couple thought it pertinent to get into a heated debate about which exit of the theater was closest to their car. I kid you not, it lasted fifteen minutes. There was some yelling, a