Matt Shiverdecker, Author at MendoWerks

How to Virtually Attend the Sundance Film Festival 2022

19Jan

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Events, Features, Film

How to Virtually Attend the Sundance Film Festival 2022

Despite a plan that included a full in-person event in Park City, Utah, this year, the Sundance Film Festival 2022 has made the push to go fully virtual in response to rising cases of the Omicron variant. The festival begins tomorrow and will run from January 20-30 online. How can you attend one of the biggest film festivals from the comfort of home? We've got a quick rundown of everything you need to know. Tickets: The full festival package has sold out, but there are still plenty of ways to take part in the action. Single Film Tickets for the Sundance Film Festival 2022 are being sold for $20 each. If you choose a Premiere screening to watch, you must stream it during the specified window of time (generally a three hour span). If you choose anything marked as Seco...

Daniel Craig Says Goodbye to Bond in ‘No Time to Die’ (Review)

14Jan

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

Daniel Craig Says Goodbye to Bond in ‘No Time to Die’ (Review)

Daniel Craig's final screen appearance as James Bond was delayed over and over again. Pre-production on the film began back in 2018 with Danny Boyle ('Slumdog Millionaire') hired for the director's chair. He left the project that fall over "creative differences" with the producers and MGM ended up going in a new direction with Cary Joji Fukunaga ('True Detective') taking over. Shooting ended up taking place in mid-2019 with a theatrical release scheduled for fall 2020. Then, of course, COVID-19 derailed things even further and caused an extra bit of havoc with this production wherein the incredible theme song from Billie Eilish actually got released and won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media six months before the film ended up even coming out. After several shuf...

Sundance Hit ‘Mass’ is a Tragic Tale of Loss (Review)

11Jan

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

Sundance Hit ‘Mass’ is a Tragic Tale of Loss (Review)

For most of us, it's hard to imagine the pain that would come from the loss of a child. I don't know how many people ever would also stop to think about the pain for those whose children take the lives of other kids. That's at the heart of the directorial debut feature film from actor Fran Kranz. In 'Mass,' two sets of parents entangled in a lawsuit meet up for a private conversation in a neutral zone. In a utility room at a church where none of them attend, the four adults finally sit down face to face with each other. Martha Plimpton and Jason Isaacs star as Gail and Jay. They lost their teenage son in a school shooting. Ann Dowd and Reed Birney star as Richard and Linda. Their son, who was also a student at the same school, pulled the trigger. As they all sit do...

Clooney Fails to Connect With ‘The Tender Bar’ (Review)

4Jan

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

Clooney Fails to Connect With ‘The Tender Bar’ (Review)

With his eighth feature film as a director, George Clooney has taken on J.R. Moehringer's acclaimed memoir of the same name. Unfortunately, as with his last several films in the director's chair, 'The Tender Bar' is inherently quite watchable, but failed to connect with me on almost any genuine level. For the film, J.R. is played by talented newcomer Daniel Ranieri as a young boy raised by his single mother (Lily Rabe) who really never gets to know his father, a disc jockey who exists in his life almost exclusively as a voice on the radio dial. They end up moving in with his grandparents (Sondra James, who gets almost no dialogue, and Christopher Lloyd, who does little else except for grunt and fart) on Long Island. J.R. falls under the spell of his uncle Charlie (Ben Affleck), a ...

28Dec

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

The 10 Best Films of 2021

For as long as I have been breathing, there have been people complaining that it was not a good year for film. In the wake of a global pandemic and with the methods that most people use to consume movies changing all the time, there feels like there has been more of that than usual. There is an awful lot of Chicken-littleing across the internet, especially on 'Film Twitter.' One thing is certain: COVID accelerated the ever-shortening theatrical window. Not only do we see a lot more 'day and date' releases available to rent on video on demand or streaming providers, but even moderately successful titles have foregone a staggered theatrical release in favor of premium VOD rental access after 17 days of release. It will be hard to put that genie back in the bottle and, one might argue...

‘The Novice’ is a Tightly Wound Tale of Obsession (Review)

21Dec

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

‘The Novice’ is a Tightly Wound Tale of Obsession (Review)

Sometimes you watch a directorial debut and you find it hard to believe it was created by a first time filmmaker. Lauren Hadaway's thrilling debut feature is a shining example of this. It probably helps to craft a story that is inspired by your own life. Hadaway was a competitive collegiate rower and "The Novice" tells the story of Alex ("Orphan" star Isabelle Fuhrman), a college freshman who joins the rowing team and becomes obsessed with rising up the ranks. It's highly unusual for a freshman to be anywhere near the varsity team, but Alex's determination and laser-sharp focus finds her sidelining friends, classes, and romantic relationships in order to succeed against upperclassman competition. Fuhrman's performance is striking and borderline terrifying. We've all known someb...

‘The Lost Daughter’ is a Harrowing Debut from Maggie Gyllenhaal (Review)

17Dec

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

‘The Lost Daughter’ is a Harrowing Debut from Maggie Gyllenhaal (Review)

There are countless films about happy families and the joys of motherhood. The debut feature from award-winning actress Maggie Gyllenhaal is not one of them. Adapted from the novel by Elena Ferrante, it tells the story of Leda (Olivia Colman), a college professor who has gone off to Greece on holiday by herself. Italian literature is her forte and she has decided to hit the beach for some relaxation while working on some translations. The island choice appears idyllic, at least momentarily, but is soon invaded by a large vacationing family who take away all of her peace and quiet. Leda becomes drawn to a young mother named Nina (Dakota Johnson) and her daughter, who suddenly disappears one afternoon and sends every person in the vicinity off into the outskirts of the beach to searc...

Academy’s Documentary Branch Whittling Down Shortlist for 2022

10Dec

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film

Academy’s Documentary Branch Whittling Down Shortlist for 2022

Earlier this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scientists (AMPAS) announced the full list of feature films eligible for consideration as Best Documentary at the upcoming 94th Academy Awards. There are a total of 138 titles eligible for the category this year and members of the Documentary Branch begin voting today to whittle that list down to a shortlist of 15 films that will advance into the new year. The shortlist should be announced on Tuesday, December 21 and those 15 films will screen on their way towards a second round of balloting which will reveal the final 5 nominees in the category. One of the films you can likely expect to get nominated this year is "Flee" - the Danish film about a queer refugee from Afghanistan is the first to ever qualify in the Documen...

‘Don’t Look Up’ is a Star-studded Apocalyptic Satire (Review)

7Dec

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

‘Don’t Look Up’ is a Star-studded Apocalyptic Satire (Review)

Movies that take place during the end of the world are nothing new, but the COVID-19 pandemic feels like it accelerated their frequency. Over the last two years, we've seen "Greenland," "How It Ends," "The Mitchells vs. The Machines," "Songbird," and many more tread this territory in different ways With his latest effort, director Adam McKay ("The Big Short") teams up with journalist David Sirota to craft a stupidly hysterical screenplay about what might happen if the planet was facing an extinction level event. On the surface, it doesn't seem like that would bring about a lot of laughter, but for me, it definitely did. Jennifer Lawrence stars as Kate Dibiasky. She is an astronomy grad student who, while on a standard observation of the night sky, discovers a massive comet that app...

3Dec

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film

How To Stream 2021’s Best Movies

December is here which means that we're rapidly approaching my favorite time of the year: awards season! This week alone has already seen the Gotham Awards, the National Board of Review, and the New York Film Critics Circle give away their top honors. There are plenty more kudos to follow, heading towards the 94th Academy Awards in March 2022. While there are buzzed-about titles that will be getting theatrical-only releases over the next month or two, many of the year's best films are already streaming or available to rent on VOD. This post will help point you in the right direction so you can get caught up over the holidays and be ready for your office or friend Oscar pools! The list below includes titles available now and some that will be dropping in the weeks ahead. When...