Blog — 3 Brothers Film

The First 45 Minutes of Independence Day (1996) Epitomize Its Brilliance

The opening of Roland Emmerich’s 1996 disaster extravaganza ranks among the most effective blockbuster openings of all time.

Review: F9: The Fast Saga (2021)

F9 escalates the series into the realm of pure spectacle and melodrama.

Zack Snyder: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a thematically and visually rich film that takes its place among the best Batman and Superman stories of the last few decades.

Reviews, Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Zack SnyderAnders BergstromJuly 7, 2021Zack Snyder, DC Comics, Batman, Superman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Holly Hunter, Jeremy Irons, superheroes, actionComment

Review: Oxygen (2021)

Alexandre Aja’s confined-space thriller mines plenty of claustrophobic tension, but ultimately doesn’t trust the strength of its limited premise to hold the viewer’s interest.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Current: At HomeAren BergstromJune 30, 2021Oxygen, Netflix, Alexandre Aja, Christie LeBlanc, Mélanie Laurent, Mathieu Amalric, Malik ZidiComment

Zack Snyder: Man of Steel (2013)

Containing some of Snyder’s highest highs and lowest lows, Man of Steel is a valuable contribution to the Superman myth.

Reviews, Zack Snyder, Flash BackAnton BergstromJune 25, 2021Superman, Man of Steel, superheroes, Zack Snyder, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Russell Crowe, action, DCEU, DC ComicsComment

Review: Unhinged (2020)

Unhinged is a trashy exploitation flick that uses a bloated and creepy Russell Crowe to fuel its blunt-force thrills.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Current: At HomeAren BergstromJune 9, 2021Unhinged, Derrick Borte, Carl Ellsworth, Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman, Jimmi Simpson, Austin P. McKenzieComment

Review: The Fast and the Furious (2001)

This rip-off of Point Break still coasts on the fumes of Vin Diesel’s star power 20 years after its release.

Review: The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

Ida Lupino’s tense film noir anticipates later horror movies in its portrait of uncompromising evil.

Aren's Reviews, Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, ReviewsAren BergstromMay 28, 2021The Hitch-Hiker, Ida Lupino, Collier Young, Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William TalmanComment

Review: The Woman in the Window (2021)

Joe Wright’s adaptation of the popular bestseller is baffling, cynical trash that wastes a good cast and crew.

Review: One False Move (1992)

Carl Franklin’s neo-noir is fast, tense, and quietly revealing about how people are and the way the world works.

Aren's Reviews, Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, ReviewsAren BergstromMay 14, 2021One False Move, Carl Franklin, Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Epperson, Bill Paxton, Cynda Williams, Michael Beach, Earl Billings, Jim MetzlerComment

Hot Docs 2021: In the Same Breath

Nanfu Wang’s documentary is a useful primer on the early days of the COVID-19 crisis.

Reviews, The Festival CircuitAnton BergstromMay 12, 2021Nanfu Wang, coronavirus, COVID-19, China, USA, propaganda, social criticismComment

Zack Snyder: Sucker Punch (2011)

Zack Snyder’s genre pastiche attempts to deconstruct the role of women in popular culture with this action fantasia, but isn’t entirely successful.

Flash Back, Reviews, Zack SnyderAnders BergstromMay 7, 2021Zack Snyder, action, fantasy, genre, Emily Browning, Oscar Isaac, Jon Hamm, Abbie Cornish, Vanessa Hudgens, Jena Malone, Jamie Chung, Carla GuginoComment

Hot Docs 2021: Come Back Anytime

John Daschbach’s documentary about Masamoto Ueda and his ramen restaurant, Bizentei, is a gentle portrait of community.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, The Festival CircuitAren BergstromMay 6, 2021Hot Docs 2021, John Daschbach, Masamoto Ueda, Come Back AnytimeComment

Review: Seconds (1966)

John Frankenheimer’s Seconds deconstructs America in the 1960s and exposes the paranoia and anxieties bubbling under the surface of American culture.

Aren's Reviews, Reviews, Overlooked and Under-AppreciatedAren BergstromMay 3, 2021John Frankenheimer, Lewis John Carlino, David Ely, Rock Hudson, Salome Jens, John Randolph, Will Geer, Jeff Corey, Richard Anderson, Murray Hamilton, Karl Swenson, Khigh Dhiegh, Frances Reid, SecondsComment

Zack Snyder: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010)

For all its fantasy adventure tropes and CGI animation conventions, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole has all the formal tics and thematic obsessions of a Snyder film.

Predicting the 2021 Oscars

The yearly tradition continues with these predictions for every category at the 93rd Academy Awards.

FeaturesAren BergstromApril 23, 20212021 Oscars, Academy Awards, oscars, Nomadland, Minari, Promising Young Woman, Sound of Metal, The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, MankComment

Review: The Father (2020)

Florian Zeller’s adaptation of his own stage play is a claustrophobic work of compassion with a great Anthony Hopkins performance.

Reviews, The Current: In Theatres, Aren's ReviewsAren BergstromApril 20, 2021The Father, Florian Zeller, Christopher Hampton, Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Imogen Poots, Rufus Sewell, Olivia WilliamsComment

Zack Snyder: Watchmen (2009)

With his successful cinematic rendering of Watchmen, Zack Snyder shows the fascination and power of the superhero on film.

Zack Snyder, Reviews, Flash BackAnders BergstromApril 16, 2021Zack Snyder, Watchmen, superheroes, Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, action movie, violence, comic book adaptationComment

Review: Tolkien (2019)

Brings welcome attention to important yet lesser-known aspects of J.R.R. Tolkien’s life, even if the film isn’t the Tolkien biopic the world needs.

Reviews, The Current: At HomeAnton BergstromApril 15, 2021Tolkien, J- R- R- Tolkien, Dome Karukoski, David Gleeson, Stephen Beresford, Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins, Colm Meaney, Laura Donnelly, Pam Ferris, Derek Jacobi, biopic, biography, writer, OxfordComment

Table Talk: The Swimmer (1968)

Anders and Aren discuss Frank and Eleanor Perry’s 1968 classic, The Swimmer, starring Burt Lancaster, and connect it to our current moment, Old and New Hollywood, and Mad Men.

RoundtablesAren BergstromApril 13, 2021The Swimmer, Frank Perry, Eleanor Perry, John Cheever, Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Joan Rivers, Tony Bickley, Marge Champion, Kim Hunter, Bill Fiore, Rose Gregorio, Charles Drake, House Jameson, Nancy CushmanComment