Matt Shiverdecker, Author at MendoWerks

‘The Exorcist: Believer’ May Make You a Skeptic (Review)

13Oct

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

‘The Exorcist: Believer’ May Make You a Skeptic (Review)

With 'The Exorcist: Believer,' director David Gordon Green has taken another legacy horror series and updated it for modern times. Whether or not he has succeeded in that is debatable. I was a fan of his 2018 reboot of the 'Halloween' series, but stretching that into a new trilogy felt unnecessary. Now, the plan is for another new trilogy using the backbone of 'The Exorcist.' I gotta say, it feels like Green should stop while he's ahead. This is not to say that 'The Exorcist: Believer' is unwatchable. Far from it. The first half of the film is rather compelling. Unfortunately, things change once efforts are made to tie the new storyline into the original tale of possession from the 1973 classic. Leslie Odam Jr. is Victor, an overprotective single father raising his teenage daug...

All is ‘Fair Play’ in Love and Climbing the Corporate Ladder (Review)

6Oct

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

All is ‘Fair Play’ in Love and Climbing the Corporate Ladder (Review)

At Sundance 2023, 'Fair Play' set off the kind of bidding wars that we don't often see anymore for indie dramas. Most of the mini-majors like Searchlight and Neon were battling it out against streaming services to release the feature debut from Chloe Domont, who cut her teeth directing television series like 'Ballers' and 'Suits.' In the end, Netflix emerged victorious and took global rights on the film which had everybody talking in Park City. Alden Ehrenreich as Luke and Phoebe Dynevor as Emily in 'Fair Play.' Cr. Sergej Radovic / Courtesy of Netflix Emily (Phoebe Dynevor, 'Bridgerton') and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich, 'Solo: A Star Wars Story') are two young professionals working in the cutthroat world of hedge fund management. Their scorching hot relationship is against company po...

What to Watch: October 2023 Streaming Preview

29Sep

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film

What to Watch: October 2023 Streaming Preview

If you’re looking for something new on streaming in October we’ve got you covered. Per usual, the month is packed with horror movies to bring the scares for Halloween! Check out some of our picks for what you should add to your October streaming watchlist! What are you most excited to see? Megan Suri stars in 'It Lives Inside' (NEON) Newly Available on VOD this October The Equalizer 3 (PVOD, October 3) The Nun II (PVOD, October 3) Joan Baez: I Am A Noise (October 6) Fremont (October 10) It Lives Inside (PVOD, October 10) Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (PVOD, October 10) The Lost Weekend: A Love Story (October 13) The Origin of Evil (October 13) The Miracle Club (October 17) https://youtu.be/wu8CzVfik-4?si=u_3yEIkI50UBII_P *PVOD ...

‘Flora and Son’ Explores the Healing Power of Music (Review)

22Sep

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

‘Flora and Son’ Explores the Healing Power of Music (Review)

With his latest film 'Flora and Son,' Irish director John Carney continues to build on the themes that have brought him success. Over the last two decades, the former bass player for The Frames has earned raves with movies like "Once" and "Sing Street." His newest is a little more rough around the edges, but still illustrates the transformative properties of song. Flora (Eve Hewson) is a single mother living in Dublin. When it comes to luck, she just doesn't have any. Her teenage son Max (Orén Kinlan) is a problem child, but Flora isn't much better. Life has been a series of mistakes and disappointments and when she gets a warning that Max needs to clean up his act or risk serious trouble, her maternal instincts finally start to surface. After rescuing a guitar from a dumpster, she ...

Charming Rom-Com ‘Love at First Sight’ Lands on Netflix (Review)

15Sep

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

Charming Rom-Com ‘Love at First Sight’ Lands on Netflix (Review)

'Love at First Sight' is an adaptation of a hit YA novel that finds the fickle finger of fate pointing directly at two strangers who meet at the airport. Narrated by Jameela Jamil ('The Good Place'), the film is charmingly slight, but fun to watch. The original novel is called 'The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight,' which is such a better title and, yet, you probably would be less likely to pick that off the Netflix menu. Haley Lu Richardson ('The White Lotus,' 'Columbus') is Hadley, who is on her way to England for the second marriage of her father (Rob Delaney). It's a special event that she has very mixed feelings about. She's still smarting from her parents divorce and not particularly excited to cross the pond to watch her dad get married to a woman she has never...

Jennifer Lawrence Delivers Plenty of Laughs in Raunchy ‘No Hard Feelings’ (Review)

8Sep

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

Jennifer Lawrence Delivers Plenty of Laughs in Raunchy ‘No Hard Feelings’ (Review)

With four Academy Award nominations and one win (for 'Silver Linings Playbook') under her belt, 'a hard-R teen comedy' No Hard Feelings' is not the first place you might expect to find Jennifer Lawrence. Inspired by an actual 2013 Craigslist ad, Lawrence stars as Maddie. She is a young thirtysomething struggling to keep it together in Montauk, New York. When the government starts knocking to collect back taxes on the house she inherited from her late mother, Maddie takes a local couple up on an unusual offer. Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) is a socially awkward teenager who has grown up coddled and comfortable. He has so experience with dating or sex. His desperate parents (Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) take out a Craigslist ad looking for a woman to show him the ropes before...

What to Watch: September 2023 Streaming Preview

1Sep

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film

What to Watch: September 2023 Streaming Preview

If you’re looking for something new on streaming in September we’ve got you covered. Check out some of our picks for what you should add to your September streaming watchlist! What are you most excited to see? Newly Available on VOD this September The Elephant Six Recording Co. (available now) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (PVOD, available now) The Adults (PVOD, September 5) Strays (PVOD, September 5) Landscape With Invisible Hand (PVOD, September 8) Barbie (PVOD, September 12) Final Cut (September 12) The Unknown Country (September 12) Dreamin' Wild (September 26) https://youtu.be/PCzXf5ZiE3k?si=E5VzX62RRvKb72kU *PVOD titles are fresh from theatrical release and generally rent or sell digitally for $19.99 (or higher). All ...

‘Bottoms’ is an Instant Comedy Classic (Review)

25Aug

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

‘Bottoms’ is an Instant Comedy Classic (Review)

While promoting her debut film 'Shiva Baby,' director Emma Seligman talked about how her next movie would be a "campy queer high school comedy in the vein of 'Wet American Summer but more for a Gen-Z queer audience." She has delivered with a wildly outrageous film called 'Bottoms.' PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebari) are hopelessly disliked at their high school. It's not because they are openly gay, but actually because they're "ugly and untalented." The two are desperate to lose their virginity before going off to college, but can't get any girls to look their way. That all changes once they form a "fight club" to attract the attention of some popular cheerleaders in their senior class. The unorthodox extracurricular activity brings the girls to them, but can they close...

Prime Video Finds a Hit in ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ (Review)

18Aug

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

Prime Video Finds a Hit in ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ (Review)

Since launching on August 11, 'Red, White & Royal Blue' has become the most streamed movie globally on Prime Video in its premiere weekend. And within a few days, it apparently has become one of the most-watched romantic comedies in the history of the streaming service. How did that happen so fast? Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine star in Prime Video's 'Red, White & Royal Blue' It helps that the film is an adaptation of the wildly successful 2019 young adult novel of the same name by Casey McQuiston. It is the directorial debut of Matthew Lopez, a Tony-nominated playwright. Taylor Zakhar Perez stars as Alex Claremont-Diaz. His mother Ellen (played by Uma Thurman rocking a raucously ridiculous Texas accent) just so happens to be the first female Presid...

What We’re Watching: The Films of William Friedkin

11Aug

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film

What We’re Watching: The Films of William Friedkin

Legendary director William Friedkin died of heart failure on Monday at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 87. He leaves behind a storied legacy and twenty narrative features, along with a handful of documentaries in his wildly eclectic filmography. Many of his greatest films are available digitally and physically, but only a handful are streaming on subscription services right now. All films below can be rented or purchased from the usual suspects (Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, etc.). Streaming sites noted where applicable. William Friedkin on the set of 'The Exorcist' The Heavy Hitters The Exorcist - Warner Bros. is currently prepping a 4K Ultra HD release of this 1973 horror classic that includes the original theatrical version as well as the extended director's cut. ...