The Movie Matchmaker

“Far From Home”: Marvel’s greatest Spider-Man film to date. Directed by: Jon Watts Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 2:09 Review by: Livi Edmonson Picking up right where “Avengers: Endgame” left off in late April, Peter Parker (Tom Holland), and all of his high school pals are back in “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” Only this time, they are not in Queens, but instead, abroad on a summer school trip. Of course, wherever Spidey goes, trouble is never too far behind. Feeling like he cannot catch a break from fighting bad guys, Peter must decide if he should spend his vacation helping Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and new fellow hero, Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), save the world from an odd threat, or try to make his move on class crush, Michelle aka “MJ” (Zendaya), instead. The summary above is barely surface-level, for everyone knows you cannot spoil a Marvel movie: it is truly the worst crime a movie fanatic can commit. However, I can spoil this: “Far From Home” is the great...

“Rocketman”: the ultimate fantasy. Directed by: Dexter Fletcher Rated: R Runtime: 2:01 Review by: Livi Edmonson Certified fresh with a score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, “Rocketman” is the musical biopic about the life of Sir Elton John that audiences and critics everywhere did not know they needed until now. Presenting an uncanny portrayal of the famous singer is triple-threat, Taron Egerton, who is best known for his breakout performances in both the “Kingsman” franchise and “Eddie the Eagle” (2016). Egerton’s beautiful voice and overwhelming charm makes him the perfect fit for the real-life character. Whether it is the numerous hairstyles, including Elton’s infamous balding look during his “Rocketman” era, or the fabulously eccentric costumes, Taron Egerton nails his portrayal, setting off early Oscar buzz, which unfortunately, will not linger long enough due to the film’s early summer release date. But Oscar nod or no Oscar nod, Taron Egerton gives a memorabl...

A teen flick that is relevant and progressive for its time. Directed by: Ry Russo-Young Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 2:00 Review by: Livi Edmonson Breakout stars, Yara Shahidi ( Blackish ) and Charles Melton ( Riverdale ) lead the latest teen melodrama, “The Sun Is Also a Star”: a film adapted from author, Nicola Yoon’s 2016 best-selling YA novel by the same name. The plot follows Daniel Bae (Melton) whose parents expect him to end up at Yale and then medical school after college. It also follows Natasha Kingsley (Shahidi), who is a Jamaica-born science nerd who happens to catch the eye of Daniel. The two end up being connected in a series of wild coincidences throughout the day as hopeless romantic Daniel tries to convince pragmatist Natasha to fall in love with him- in just a day, that is.  The catch: Natasha’s family is on the verge of being deported the next morning unless her lawyer can fight to change it. The feelings, as expected, grow extremely strong bet...

“Yesterday”: an underwhelming fantasy drama. Directed by: Danny Boyle Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 1:56 Review by: Livi Edmonson Written by the extraordinary screenwriter and romantic comedy king, Richard Curtis (“Love Actually”, “Four Weddings and a Funeral”, “Notting Hill”, millions more…), and directed by the groundbreaking director of “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008), Danny Boyle, “Yesterday” had the perfect formula to be not just a great film, but a spectacular film. The plot, to be as simplistic as possible, goes like this: Jack Malik (played by Himesh Patel), a struggling singer-songwriter, one day wakes up after a bike crash only to find that he is the only one that remembers The Beatles. Using this somewhat of a curse as a newfound gift, Jack then decides to make the popular songs his own, becoming a major popstar in the midst of doing so. When fame ends up being not all it is cracked up to be, Jack must turn to his ex-manager/best friend, Ellie (played by L...

                          Academy Awards Predictions 2019 By: Livi Edmonson The 2019 awards season has sadly come to an end and what better way is there to end the season than with the 91st annual Academy Awards? I am here to predict what and who will win, could win, and most importantly,  deserves to win in some of the biggest Oscar categories of the evening. This has been one of the most unpredictable awards seasons yet with so many fantastic films of 2018 to be counted for. Tune in this Sunday, February 24th, to see who will take home the gold. Oh yeah, and a hostess Oscars at that. This shall be interesting... “Best Picture” Both the hardest category to predict and perhaps the most important one of the evening, “Best Picture” could truly go to any film, but here’s what I’m thinking… The nominees are: “A Star is Born”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “BlacKkKlansman”, “Green Book”, “The Favourite...

“What Men Want”: a fun, powerful, and hilarious comedy.  Directed by: Adam Shankman Rated: R Runtime: 1:57 Review by: Livi Edmonson “My self-worth is not going to come from a man’s approval.” This piece of dialogue is from Taraji P. Henson’s character, Ali Davis, in her latest rom-com, “What Men Want”. Though the film will be taken frivolously, for it obviously will not be winning any Oscars with its rotten score of 46% on Rotten Tomatoes, but the quote above proves something even more rewarding than a golden statue. It proves that women can lead a Rom-Com and end up  not  settling for a man’s expectations by the film’s conclusion. So often, we see female actresses in these boss-lady leading roles, but they always end the same, with the women settling for something or someone. “What Men Want” not only showcases Henson’s character as an independent, successful leading lady, but also as someone who isn’t afraid to go after what she wants and ...

McCarthy and Grant deliver the greatest performances of their career.  Directed by: Marielle Heller Rated: R Runtime: 1:47 Review by: Livi Edmonson Stunning, yet suspenseful in its simplicity, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” is easily one of the best dramas of the year, if not the decade. Based on the true story by biographer Lee Israel (played by Melissa McCarthy), the film follows Lee as she impersonates Katharine Hepburn, Dorothy Kilgallen, as well as many other Hollywood figures, in archived letters that she supposedly was given by her “cousin”. The forgery began when Lee actually  did  stumble upon a real letter in a library book she was reading. Once she learned she could earn a serious amount of profit from writing the letters, the lonely author began researching these icons to make sure her impersonations were flawless. The crazy part about all of it is that she was able to really pull it off- kind of… Excited by her newest hidden profession,...