Movie Reviews – Northern Iowan

Chazelle’s ‘First Man’ valiantly blasts off

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...

‘Chappaquiddick’ adequately delivers

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

April 26, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

The date is July 18, 1969. Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy is speeding down the moonlit road on Chappaquiddick Island. In the passenger seat is 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, who was a presidential campaign secretary for Robert Kennedy. After a few missed turns, the car eventually meets the infamous...

A dazzling dystopian dog film

CLINTON OLSASKY, Executive Editor

April 19, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

Combining his love for visually inventive animation, deadpan humor and, well, dogs, director Wes Anderson (“Rushmore,” “Moonrise Kingdom,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel”) may have made his most effortlessly enjoyable film to date. “Isle of Dogs” is set in a dystopian Japan in which all ...

New horror flick silently shocks

CLINTON OLSASKY, Executive Editor

April 12, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

The deafening silence that courses throughout the new horror film “A Quiet Place” is at once terrifying and spellbinding — resulting in an unapologetically unique cinematic experience that is likely to stay with you long after you leave the theater. Set in the year 2020, the film follows a single...

‘Ready Player One’ is fun thrill ride

CLINTON OLSASKY, Executive Editor

April 9, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

After having devoted much of the latter half of his career to historical dramas and prestige pictures, it seems that legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg (“Jaws,” “E.T.,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark”) has finally returned to his blockbuster roots with “Ready Player One.” Spielberg’s latest...

Teen sex comedy transcends genre

CLINTON OLSASKY, Executive Editor

April 2, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

Prom is the magical night in which all teenage girls fall in love with the boy of their dreams and enter into the realm of womanhood through the transformative act of sex. Or, at least that’s what decades of prom night narratives would have us believe. However, in the new comedy “Blockers,” that...

Reviewer wrecks ‘Wrinkle in Time’

CLINTON OLSASKY, Executive Editor

March 26, 2018

Filed under Campus Life, Movie Reviews, Showcase

You know that feeling you get when your mega-smart astrophysicist father disappears for years at a time while studying the mysteries of the universe, only for you to be guided to his extra-dimensional location by three mystical travelers, one of whom inexplicably morphs into a giant spinach leaf? If you...