Movie Reviews – Northern Iowan

2 Smiths can’t save ‘Gemini Man’

October 17, 2019

Henry Brogan (Will Smith) is the most elite assassin the U.S. government has ever had. He has 72 confirmed kills and is even able to hit a target on a moving train from over two kilometers away. Disillusioned and fatigued from years of killing, Henry decides to put it all away for a quiet retirement. ...

‘Between Two Ferns’ thrives in limelight

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

October 3, 2019

What started as a joke and over the years became an even bigger one, Zach Galifianakis’ long-running web series “Between Two Ferns” has been given the feature-length treatment via Netflix. Just like the show, the premise of the film is simple: Zach Galifianakis has been doing his web show for...

Emmys prove awards shows’ descent

GABRIELLE LEITNER, Executive Editor

September 26, 2019

The best of the best in television were honored at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday, Sept. 22. One thing the Emmys proved this year was that awards shows need a host. The Emmys followed the Academy’s decision to go hostless earlier this year...

‘Ad Astra’ tells human story on cosmic level

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

September 23, 2019

You may not have noticed, but the 2010s have been a renaissance for space movies. It all started with “Gravity” in 2013, followed by “Interstellar,” “The Martian” and “First Man.” The one thing each of these great movies has in common is their ability to tell a story of perseverance a...

Scafaria’s ‘Hustlers’ makes it rain

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

September 16, 2019

We all know how the Great Recession of 2008 affected the American economy. There are countless stories of large financial and automotive firms going under, taking thousands of employees with them. But there is one industry you may not have considered where workers took the biggest direct hit: strip clubs....

‘IT’ sequel is too long for too little

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

September 12, 2019

In 1913, Henry Ford introduced the assembly line to the Ford Motor Company. He made a ton of money and was hailed as a leading innovator. Now just a hundred years later, director Andy Musciehtti brings that same assembly line principle to “IT Chapter Two” as he serves up his scary products in the e...

Top 5 movies of Summer 2019

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

September 5, 2019

As the outdoor and political climate reached sweltering conditions during the never-ending summer, the movie theatres offered a cool and comfortable place to escape from reality. And while escapism is great just by itself, it’s also great if the movie that you had come to see turned out to be worthw...

‘Avengers: Endgame’ is one for the ages

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

May 2, 2019

It’s taken 11 years and 22 films, but the “Avengers” saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally reached its long-awaited bittersweet conclusion. Thanos has snapped his fingers and half of all life on Earth is gone. With the few remaining heroes left, the Avengers embark on a revenge qu...

‘Missing Link’ tells wholesome tale

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

April 22, 2019

Priding themselves on craftsmanship and hard work, Laika Studios has carved out a special spot in the modern animation industry. Their preference for stop-motion over computer effects has led to some dazzlingly authentic films such as “Coraline” and “Kubo and the Two Strings.” The studio’s newes...

‘Pet Semetary’ is uneven horror experience

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

April 11, 2019

What if you had the option to bring someone back from the dead? Would you seize the opportunity to get a second chance or would you turn away and leave the dead as they were? Author Stephen King posed and gave a grisly answer to this very question with his 1983 cult-classic novel, “Pet Sematary.”...

New DC film ‘Shazam!’ fizzles out

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

April 4, 2019

If you had told me that we would get both a “Captain Marvel” and “Shazam” film in the same year, I would have called you crazy. But stranger things have happened, which is something we’ve had to get used to over the past couple of years. So now the year is 2019 and both of these films have p...

‘Us’ provokes through terror

HUNTER FRIESEN, Film Critic

March 28, 2019

When you hear the name Jordan Peele these days, you instinctively think of his 2017 breakout hit “Get Out.” Through impeccable directing and writing, Peele created a pop culture moment around a film that was able to be entertaining and thought-provoking. It was so good that the only real critique people...