North Carolina Film Critics Association

6 hours ago

Review: Jexi Movie from member Cameron Allison.

"Jexi" is an odd paradigm of a film, failing to be one thing and becoming something better in the process.

The latest from the team of Jon Lucas and Scott Moore ("Bad Moms") follows Phil (Adam Devine, "Pitch Perfect"), a screen addict with no friends or social life to speak of, who gets a phone programmed to make his life better. However, the titular device (voiced by Rose Byrne) is rude and crass to Phil, berating him at every turn while also forcing him into society via such methods as exposing his empty calendar to co-workers who invite him to play kickball and calling a woman he met on the street without giving him the option to hang up. But once things start to look bright for Phil, Jexi falls in love with him and proves she will do anything to keep them together.

In theaters now. #JEXI ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

21 hours ago

Review: Miss Virginia Movie from member Douglas Davidson.

No matter the time, no matter the place, the defining trait in every civilization is its educated populace. The choices each individual member makes are based upon the information they have or the information they lack. In modern politics, education development is considered a “silver bullet” for the reduction in crime, poverty, and more. The trick is, education for all is great until someone balks at paying for it or it becomes more profitable to keep the uneducated in the same state generation after generation. Exploring these notions is "Miss Virginia", directed by R.J. Daniel Hanna (the short film "Everything") with a script from Erin O’Connor ("We the Internet"). Inspired by the true story of mother Virginia Walden’s personal mission to get her son James into a better school, the film follows Ms. Walden as she comes to learn that the task of funding education is mired in conflicting ideologies, making something as simple as finding a safe way to improve her son’s learning capabilities into a war with Congress.

In theaters, on VOD, and digital October 18 2019. #MissVirginiaMovie ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

1 day ago

Watch: WJLA with member Kevin Sampson.

Movie critic Kevin Sampson from Picture Lock Show is back to discuss some new releases out in theaters now. The choices for this weekend are "Gemini Man" with Will Smith. The best hit-man in the game now has to battle against a cloned version of his younger self after becoming an enemy of the state. Second choice for this weekend from Sampson's pick is "The Addams Family". With the first one released back in 1991 this animated version is "geared more towards this generation" according to Sampson. Grab your coats and your candy and head to movies this weekend to write your own review. ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

1 day ago

Review: "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie" from member Andrew Spitznas.

This year has brought us sequels to a pair of the best TV dramas to grace the small screen this century. In May, HBO gifted us with a conclusion to its revisionist Western Deadwood. Today, Netflix dropped "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie".

"Deadwood: The Movie" felt almost necessary, given the abrupt halt to that series in 2006. And the characterizations and linguistic beauty of the film are on a par with this most wonderful of shows.

By contrast, "El Camino" seems superfluous and falls short of the best "Breaking Bad" episodes.Still, for its generous cameos and return to Jesse Pinkman’s character, fans of the show will undoubtedly want to watch.

Available for streaming on Netflix now. #ElCamino ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

2 days ago

Review: Abominable from member Josh Martin.

It seems potentially ill-advised to apply some kind of auteurist template to an animation studio, but if we can rank and discuss Pixar movies as if they were all made by the same group of creatives, why not do the same for Dreamworks Animation? I bring this up only because the studio’s two 2019 films, March’s "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" and the recent "Abominable", both seem to be driven by the same basic artistic impulses and inclinations. Where previous Dreamworks titles like "The Boss Baby" and the "Shrek" franchise treasured satire and absurdity over gracefulness, 2019’s Dreamworks offerings prioritize spectacle and heart over the elements that defined their previous films.

In theaters now. #AbominableMovie ...