Movie Reviews – Northern Iowan

Coen film inconsistently explores Wild West

December 6, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

Joel and Ethan Coen are two directors who can always be depended on to make a wildly original film. Their work contains an offbeat nature mixed with highbrow comedy that either ends up making a splash with audiences (“Fargo”) or landing with a thud (“The Ladykillers”). The brothers’ latest Netflix...

Caple Jr.s ‘Creed II’ packs a punch

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

December 3, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

The first “Creed” film was an entertaining surprise that was able to be both of fan service to the “Rocky” franchise and a great standalone story filled with rich characters and relationships. The new sequel, “Creed II,” goes bigger than the first as the return of Ivan Drago reignites ...

‘Spiders’s Web’ is as lifeless as its setting

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

November 15, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

After watching “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” all I could think about was how badly this film tried to be a James Bond movie. There’s the dark protagonist who uses questionable methods to serve justice, the villain who wants to control the world and the underdeveloped love interest who always ge...

Queen biopic is an entertaining mess

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

November 12, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

Making a biopic about Freddie Mercury and Queen is a truly difficult task for anyone to accomplish. Condensing the life of this legendary lead singer into a feature-length film is next to impossible. Bryan Singer attempts this feat with “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which unsurprisingly isn’t able to ...

Redford shines in ‘The Old Man & the Gun’

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

November 1, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

Robert Redford has built a successful decade-spanning career as a charming actor who can play any type of character with a heart of gold. It seems fitting that in his final performance in the new film “The Old Man & the Gun,” Redford plays Forrest Tucker, a man born to rob banks. Except he’...

‘Bad Times’ proves to be a good time

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

October 22, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

A priest, a singer, a vacuum salesman and a drifter walk into a hotel. They all have a story and need a room for a specific reason, but only one of them is telling the truth. Each one is untrusting of the others and plans out how to survive the night as a severe storm moves in. Then enters a crazy cult l...

Chazelle’s ‘First Man’ valiantly blasts off

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

October 18, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

What do Americans really know about Neil Armstrong? Everyone knows that he was the first man to step foot on the moon, but what else? Most of us would be left blank, realizing we know so little about one of the most important American figures of the 20th century. Stepping in to remedy this problem is direct...

‘A Simple Favor’ is simply average

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

October 1, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

Stephanie Smothers is a young woman who absolutely loves her job as a single mother of her young son. Her life consists of caring for him, volunteering at school and running a popular parenting vlog. At school, she meets Emily Nelson, the mother of her son’s best friend. Emily works a high-end job in t...

‘The Predator’ falls prey to laziness

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

September 20, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

The original “Predator” from 1987 was a film full of mindless action done in a smart way. Every other sequel, spin-off and reboot following has just been mindless action done really dumb. “The Predator,” the new quasi-reboot/sequel, is no exception to that trend. “The Predator” tries to ...

‘The Nun’ is an unholy abomination

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

September 13, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

Over the last five years, the “Conjuring” universe has taken the horror genre by storm. This has been made possible by great directing and inventive scares that defy expectations. “The Nun,” the newest film in the series, has none (pun intended) of those quality traits. Instead, it ends up bei...

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ lacks originality

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

September 6, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

Rachel Chu and Nick Young have been together for over a year now and couldn’t be happier. Both of them are professors at NYU, which is how they first met. One day, Nick asks Rachel to come with him to Singapore for his best friend’s wedding, with the added bonus of meeting his family. Thinki...

Lee makes comeback with ‘BlacKkKlansman’

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

August 27, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

Spike Lee has always been an outspoken director when it comes to civil rights. His no-holds-barred mentality put him on the map in 1989 with “Do the Right Thing,” and again in 1992 for his epic biopic “Malcolm X.” However, the last decade has been rough for Lee, as his films have been of lower q...