Matt Shiverdecker, Author at MendoWerks

Gloriously Goofy “Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar” Out Now on Blu-ray and VOD (Review)

9Apr

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Gloriously Goofy “Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar” Out Now on Blu-ray and VOD (Review)

Comedians Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo became fast friends after meeting at The Groundlings, a Los Angeles-based improv comedy theater in the early 2000s. In 2011, the duo earned an Academy Award nomination for their uproarious "Bridesmaids" screenplay. A full decade later, Wiig and Mumolo have brought us two of the most gloriously goofy characters ever to be unleashed on audiences. They've now written, produced, and starred in "Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar," which is directed by Josh Greenbaum (better known as an award-winning documentarian behind "Becoming Bond" and "The Short Game"). Barb (Mumolo) and Star (Wiig) have best friends for their entire lives and pretty much spend every waking moment together. After the store they work in closes down, they decide to take ...

“Godzilla vs. Kong” is a Quickly Forgotten Battle (Review)

6Apr

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

“Godzilla vs. Kong” is a Quickly Forgotten Battle (Review)

There were a few reasons why I was looking forward to checking out "Godzilla vs. Kong." For starters, 2017's "Kong: Skull Island" was legitimately pretty damn fun to watch and gave a great cast the opportunity to ham it up against some beautiful locations and solid effects work. Full disclosure: I have not seen the 2014 "Godzilla" reboot nor its 2019 sequel, "Godzilla: King of the Monsters," but when I saw that Adam Wingard had been secured to direct this new battle-centric sequel, my interest level piqued. His 2011 home-invasion thriller "You're Next" is one of my favorite genre films in recent memory, so I was interested to see what he would do with two of the most legendary cinematic monsters of all time. It's unlikely that any filmmaker could have given this lackluster effor...

COVID-19 Documentary “The Last Cruise” Hits HBO Max (Review)

2Apr

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

COVID-19 Documentary “The Last Cruise” Hits HBO Max (Review)

Before most of us were even aware of the dangers presented by COVID-19, a group of cruise ship passengers and crew members were trapped in a living nightmare. The first cases of coronavirus were reported in late-December 2019. The Diamond Princess set sail from Yokohama, Japan to begin a trip across Southeast Asia on January 20, 2020. With over 3,700 on board from all over the world, it became one of the earliest lessons in how the virus could spread rapidly. Director Hannah Olson (“Baby God”) has constructed a fascinating documentary almost entirely of footage shot by people who were on board. Some of these clips captured on cell phones are shaky and difficult to watch, but also give us a historic glimpse into how things went from bad to worse. The cruis...

Oscar-Nominated “The Father” Debuts on VOD Today (Review)

27Mar

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Oscar-Nominated “The Father” Debuts on VOD Today (Review)

Movie theaters around the country are operating at lower capacities and many have remained closed entirely due to COVID-19. This has helped prompt Sony Pictures Classics to experiment with Premium Video On Demand for the first time with their highly acclaimed new drama, "The Father." It's the debut feature from Florian Zeller and is adapted from his own 2012 play "Le Père." Anthony Hopkins stars as an elderly man with dementia who is struggling to make sense of his surroundings. His daughter Anne (Olivia Colman, "The Crown") is trying to figure out how to balance her personal life while making sure her father is properly cared for. As his memory ebbs and flows, he forgets faces, places, and experiences. After angrily accusing a caretaker of stealing his watch (when in actuality...