Movies with Mae

Your guide to movies.... one review at a time!

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MFF 2020 Review: Lee Isaac Chung's 'Minari' is exquisite

MFF 2020 Review: Lee Isaac Chung’s ‘Minari’ is exquisite

Minari is an exquisite portrait of a Korean-American family’s struggle in uniting during the most tumultuous time in their lives. As they embark on a journey that takes them from California to a small farm in Arkansas, writer-director Lee Isaac Chung offers a vividly captivating and heartfelt story that flourishes in its specificity while examining the beauty and difficulty in starting over.

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'Waves' Movie Review

‘Waves’ Movie Review

Before a single scene of Waves screens, the poster declares that it’s from the producers of HBO’s hit series Euphoria. As soon as the film begins, it’s not hard to see why. Relying on mostly audio and visual storytelling, Waves is incredibly focused and intimate, but it’s also overly long, falling apart after an explosive moment that it never fully recovers from.

Written and directed by Trey…

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'After the Wedding' Review: Fantastic Performances Can't Save a Hollow Film

‘After the Wedding’ Review: Fantastic Performances Can’t Save a Hollow Film

Based on the original screenplay of Susanne Bier, who wrote and directed the 2006 Danish film of the same name, Bart Freundlich’s updated version of After the Wedding is essentially a gender-flipped replica of its predecessor. The film is set up to pack an emotional punch, but contains so many twists and turns that it’s hard to capture the depth of the characters’ feelings. While After the…

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'Dora and the Lost City of Gold' Review: Good-natured Fun for the Whole Family

‘Dora and the Lost City of Gold’ Review: Good-natured Fun for the Whole Family

Adapting a children’s show like Dora the Explorer to the big screen has its challenges, but Dora and the Lost City of Gold is the kind of adaptation that works as a nice tribute to the original series and an incredibly fun and fantastical adventure. It’s energetic without ever being over-the-top and it’s simply a joy from start to finish, entertaining for both children and adults alike. 

At…

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'The Lion King' Review: A Tragically Dull Remake

‘The Lion King’ Review: A Tragically Dull Remake

Of all of Disney’s remakes thus far, it’s sad to say that The Lion King is incredibly disappointing. Not only does it fail in its attempts to differentiate itself from the original animated classic, but its verbatim storytelling that’s completely devoid of sincerity and emotion. Directed by The Jungle Book’sJon Favreau, it’s certainly one of Disney’s most visually stunning films to date and the…

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'Spider-Man: Far From Home' Review: Peter and Friends Take on Europe

‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ Review: Peter and Friends Take on Europe

This review contains some minor spoilers for the movie.

As the first post-Avengers: Endgame film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Far From Home definitely fills in some of the gaps as to what the world now looks like following Thanos’ Snap. Directed by Jon Watts, with a script by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, Far From Homehas a spirited energy and is an enjoyable return to the…

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'Yesterday' Review: The Beatles Tribute it is Not

‘Yesterday’ Review: The Beatles Tribute it is Not

Danny Boyle’s latest film, Yesterday, is not so much an homage to the music of The Beatles so much as it is a movie that includes their music. As such, it’s kind of like watching a very long music video dedication with cover songs littered throughout. Though Yesterday is a light and conventionally enjoyable movie, it doesn’t have much to say nor does it know exactly what it wants to be. 

Himes…

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'Men in Black' Review: An Average Sequel That Lacks Humor

‘Men in Black’ Review: An Average Sequel That Lacks Humor

The original Men in Black is a classic. It was funny, full of great alien adventures, and Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones had a lot of chemistry as polar opposite partners. Simply put, it had all the makings of a memorable movie and remains, to this day, a go-to favorite. Men in Black: Internationaldefinitely lives up to its name in that it’s, well, international. The plot twist is a bit of a…

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'Always Be My Maybe' Review: Ali Wong and Randall Park Charm

‘Always Be My Maybe’ Review: Ali Wong and Randall Park Charm

While the romantic comedy has faded over the years (seriously, when was the last time you saw one in theaters?), Netflix has taken the reigns and breathed new life into the genre, with hits like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Set it Up. Directed by Nahnatchka Khan and co-written by Ali Wong, Randall Park, and Michael Golamco, Always Be My Maybebreaks boundaries and leans a lot into its…

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'Avengers: Endgame' Movie Review: An Emotionally Satisfying Conclusion

‘Avengers: Endgame’ Movie Review: An Emotionally Satisfying Conclusion

This review contains no major spoilers for the film.

It’s hard to describe the feeling after watching Avengers: Endgame. It’s essentially the close of a chapter, a chapter that produced 11 years worth of movies belonging the Marvel Cinematic Universe; a universe that has expanded to include a plethora of characters and storylines, so of course, wrapping it all up was already a tough task. But…

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'Fast Color' Movie Review

‘Fast Color’ Movie Review

At this point, there are so many movies about receiving the gift of superpowers or the exploration of supernatural gifts in the form of superhero films. Fast Color doesn’t really follow in the footsteps of these movies and that’s what makes it stand out. On the surface, Fast Color shares similar attributes to other films in its genre, but it’s far more of a contained and intimate story and it’s…

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'Transit' Movie Review: Past and Present Merge in Haunting Film

‘Transit’ Movie Review: Past and Present Merge in Haunting Film

Adapted from Anna Segher’s novel by Christian Petzold, who pulls double duty as writer and director, Transit is a masterfully told story that threads the past and present together with a unifying theme. The film is powerful in its depth and meaning, wonderfully and almost poetically executed, all while maintaining a great amount of subtlety.

Georg (Franz Rogowski), a Holocaust survivor illegally…

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Barry Jenkins on Balancing a Love Story and Social Commentary, James Baldwin, and the Various Forms of Love in 'If Beale Street Could Talk'

Barry Jenkins on Balancing a Love Story and Social Commentary, James Baldwin, and the Various Forms of Love in ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’

Barry Jenkins has another fantastic film on his hands with his latest, If Beale Street Could Talk. This follow-up to the Oscar-winning Moonlight is moving, the cinematography is vivid and draws you in, while the characters invite you into their world and linger in your thoughts long after the screen goes dark.

Jenkins has a gift of heightening the senses of the audience while watching, with the…

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'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald' Review: A Charmless and Messy Film

‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ Review: A Charmless and Messy Film

Let’s get this out of the way. David Yates was never the the best director the Harry Potter series had. His direction always managed to miss the character beats, the comedic timing, and many other things. His directing style works in movies that are naturally slower in pace (yes, like in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I), but Yates enjoys drawing out the story, which only serves to…

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'Outlaw King' Movie Review: A Mediocre War Epic

‘Outlaw King’ Movie Review: A Mediocre War Epic

When Outlaw King premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, it was much longer than its current two-hour runtime. Director David Mackenzie had to edit the filmafter much criticism of its length following its premiere at TIFF. I’m not sure how the original film played out, but the edit, which shaved off roughly 20 minutes, doesn’t exactly help the film. It’s still long, doesn’t…

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'Wildlife' Movie Review: Carey Mulligan Shines in Paul Dano's Directorial Debut

‘Wildlife’ Movie Review: Carey Mulligan Shines in Paul Dano’s Directorial Debut

Serving as Paul Dano’s directorial debut, which he co-writes alongside Zoe Kazan with a script based on the book by Richard Ford, Wildlife is an intimate portrait of what is seemingly a happy domestic life torn apart by circumstance. It’s an exploration of the destruction of the nuclear family through the eyes of a teenager whose wholesome views and ideas of his parents’ marriage deteriorates as…

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'What They Had' Movie Review: An Intimate and Beautifully Crafted Story

‘What They Had’ Movie Review: An Intimate and Beautifully Crafted Story

Elizabeth Chomko, in her feature film debut as both a writer and director, delivers a layered, complex, and touching story of family in the midst of dealing with the effects of Alzheimer’s. What They Had is haunting, emotional, and everything from the acting to the unfolding of the story is beautifully crafted.

Bridget (Hilary Swank) flies halfway across the country with her daughter, Emma…

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