Quick question: how far can you leap? Five feet? Ten? Maybe fifteen? Well Lara Croft can clear at least twenty-five and it’s amazing. Yes friends, Tomb Raider, in my extremely credible, unbiased opinion is SO GOOD. It’s the “is it self-aware or is it just really leaning in?” type movie we are usually only lucky enough to stumble upon at 3 am on the SYFY network. It’s the mix of questionable and near genius creative decisions we find in only the most entertaining, relentless t

Title: An Actor’s Revenge Genre: Drama Director: Kon Ichikawa Stars: Kazuo Hasegawa, Ganjirō Nakamura, and Ayako Wakao Bias: With the word “revenge” in the title, I was really expecting an action movie. Grade: B In a Nutshell: In 19th century Japan, Yukitarō (Kazuo Hasegawa)is an onnagata, an actor who plays female roles in kabuki plays. He’s a very popular performer, capable of bringing his audience to tears, but his current life is a far cry from his old one. As a boy, Yuki

Pacific Rim (2013) – Giant robots? Check. Giant monsters? Check. GdT? Check. When I first saw this in theaters I probably had my expectations scaled a bit too high, but returning to it, it’s a lot of fun and gives you what you came for. Star Charlie Hunnam (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) is still a charisma-void, but Idris Elba (Luther) makes up for it. And the leads are surrounded with fun supporting characters, including Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny…) and Burn Gorman (

Title: Black Vol. 1 (2017) Genre: Superhero Comic Book Publisher: Black Mask Studios Creative Team: Kwanza Osajyefo (creator/writer), Tim Smith 3 (creator/designer), Jamal Igle (illustrator), Robin Riggs (inker), Derwin Robinson (tones), David Sharpe (letters), Sarah Litt (editor), Matt Pizzolo (publisher), and Khary Randolph (cover artist) Bias: Comic nerd. Grade: A Synopsis (from the back cover): "In a world that already hates and fears them, what if only black people had s

Moon (2009) - The first feature film of director Duncan Jones, Moon tells the story of Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), who is working a solo mission mining Helium on the moon. To avoid spoilers, I won't say much more about the film's plot, but I promise you that this slow burn is worth every minute. One of my all-time favorite science fiction films, Moon has great writing and acting, and layers of visual references to other classics of the genre. Streaming on Netflix. Mute (2018) -

Title: Annihilation Genre: Science Fiction, Drama Director: Alex Garland Stars: Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, David Gyasi, Benedict Wong Bias: I've loved Alex Garland's work since I first read The Beach, many years ago. Although I thought Sunshine went off the rails in its third act, I would argue that Ex Machina is a perfect science fiction film. Given all that, I went into this film with very high hopes. Gr

Ian Waldie - Get Out There’s not a movie this year more deserving of Best Picture than Get Out. While the other nominees are nice stories, Get Out is a rich, unendingly deep, culturally relevant text. From the opening title card showcasing the frail yet dense looking woods to the movie’s triumphant end, there is just so much to this movie. I’ve seen it four times, and I find new things I love about with each re-watch. Director Jordan Peele takes concepts from both Guess Who’s

The Kino Club 313 writing staff is getting amped up for the 2018 Oscars! In preparation, we watched a whole bunch of trailers for Oscar nominated films and wrote our first impression responses. This list includes all films that received two or more nominations. (Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know we forgot I, Tonya...please don't hire someone to bust our kneecaps, Margot Robbie). Enjoy! Baby Driver Nominations: Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing Ian Waldie: Impressive Camera Wo