THE OPTIMIST - MOVIE REVIEWS

  When it comes to adaptations, none have been more intriguing to me than the jump from Broadway musical to film musical. Many tend to be really good adaptations, like this summer's In The Heights . Others...maybe not so much (yes, I'm looking at you, Cats ). That dichotomy is what really gets me. It'll be interesting to see what Steven Spielberg does with West Side Story later this year, but regardless of source material, the concept of the musical is as Hollywood as it gets, and there are a lot of really great broadway musicals that would make really good films. The most recent adaptation to reach the silver screen is opening this weekend. Dear Evan Hansen , which hit the stage at the end of 2016 and has become a massive hit with fans and critics, will now join the ranks of other stage-to-screen adaptations...and the big question is: is it any good? Evan Hansen, a high school senior with Social Anxiety disorder, embarks on an emotional journey of self-discovery and accep...

  James Wan's new film Malignant is enjoying its first week of release, and I watched it on its Thursday night release last week. I've taken some time to mull it over before writing this review, because for the first time in a long time, I experienced something that I hadn't in a while: subverted expectations. I cannot tell you how thrilling it was to go into this movie with an idea for what it might be, only to then be completely and utterly upended in the most wonderful and disturbing way. Malignant is a crazy ride, a love letter to those obscure 80's horror films that tend to get forgotten, crafted by one of the better filmmakers of our day. If you have yet to see this movie, I implore you to do so, because it's a blast. *I don't know how I'll be able to get through this review without delving into spoilers, so know that towards the latter half, I will be diving into spoiler territory. If you haven't seen the film, maybe wait to see it before finish...

  Going to the cinema to catch the newest Marvel movie is about as eventful as it gets when it comes to going to the movies. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens this weekend, and we finally get a good glimpse at what this new phase of the MCU will be. Yes, we got Black Widow earlier in the summer, and as awesome as it was, that movie didn't really do anything to move the MCU forward, (save for the end credits scene, but that's about it). With Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings , we get the first major Phase Four release, and it blasts onto the scene in epic fashion. As I write this I'm about half an hour removed from my screening and I cannot get over how awesome it was. A second viewing can't come fast enough. Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), a master and kung-fu, is forced to face his troubled past after his father - the true leader of the Ten Rings organization - reels him back. We were first introduced to the Ten Rings back in 2008 with the very first entr...