Just a few weeks ago, Universal Pictures shocked the world with Jurassic World, a long-awaited franchise reboot that has quickly became one of the biggest box office success stories of…
Author: Brent Hankins
Brent Hankins
Brent Hankins has been blogging and writing film reviews online since 2011. He joined the Phoenix Film Critics Society in 2013, and was a founding member of the Phoenix Critics Circle the following year, where he currently serves as President. Brent also hosted the weekly Drinks and Discourse podcast for nearly 5 years, and is currently the editor-in-chief at The Lamplight Review. He resides in Tempe, AZ with his wife and son.
Ted 2 brings the raunchy bear and his best buddy back to the big screen for more pot smoking, pop-culture referencing mayhem following the massive success of…
In the age of social media, the lives of celebrities have become more visible and more accessible than ever before. The glamorous lifestyles of movie stars, television…
“Do you ever look at someone and wonder what’s going on inside their head?” That’s a question we can all relate to, and Pixar’s latest animated offering,…
Last year, Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash came out of the Sundance Film Festival with tremendous buzz after taking home both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award.…
Most of the time when we see geeks and geek culture represented on film or television, we get a narrow-minded stereotype, a caricature that the general…
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was the breakout hit of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, following in the footsteps of last year’s Whiplash by…
More than twenty years ago, Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park captivated audiences around the world, showcasing the most photorealistic depiction of dinosaurs ever realized on film, thanks to a…
Writing a review of a film for which I have no strong opinion is always something of a tedious task, but less than 48 hours after…
The boys are back in the long-awaited feature film version of HBO’s hit comedy series Entourage. Four years after the show aired its season finale, the…
If there’s one thing you can’t fault San Andreas for, it’s false advertising. The Brad Peyton-directed disaster flick has sold itself in its marketing with massive…
Whenever I see a horror film, I want it to be smart and scary. Granted, I’m usually willing to settle for one or the other, but…
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland ever since I first heard about the “mystery box” from the Disney archives, whose contents sparked…
The Barden Bellas are back on the stage in Pitch Perfect 2, the sequel to 2012’s surprise hit about a collegiate a cappella group. Three years…
After a grueling journey from Scotland to America on a quest to reunite with his beloved, Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) crosses paths with a mysterious drifter…
“I fucking loved it.” That was my initial reaction after walking out of the theater following the screening of Mad Max: Fury Road, and 24 hours…
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to the big screen following his eight-year stint as the Governor of California was met with a triumphant cheer from fans of the ridiculous,…
It’s been more than 20 years since the death of Kurt Cobain, and while there have been numerous documentaries, books, and television programs devoted to telling his…
Three years ago, the stars of several different superhero films joined forces in Marvel’s The Avengers. Not only was it a moment that comic book fans…
There are plenty of movies about characters with amazing abilities and extraordinary powers, but most of them feature adults in flashy costumes or metal suits. Little Boy,…
Universal’s microbudget horror flick Unfriended has been scaring up business at the box office, opening to more than $15 million and garnering positive reviews from both critics and…
One of last year’s best films comes to home video with the Blu-ray release of Wild, director Jean-Marc Vallee’s follow-up to The Dallas Buyers Club. This…
Screenwriter Alex Garland, best known for his work on sci-fi favorites 28 Days Later and Sunshine, makes his directorial debut with this month’s Ex Machina. Working from…
After the Warner Bros. animated feature Son of Batman enjoyed its world premiere at WonderCon 2014, it only makes sense that the next chapter in the…
FX’s new comedy series The Comedians is a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional sketchy comedy series, where Billy Crystal and Josh Gad play versions of themselves,…
It was about nine months ago when the pilot episode of Gotham premiered to an excited and enthusiastic crowd at San Diego Comic Con. Since then,…
The Fast and Furious franchise has been a box office juggernaut, with the last three installments taking in a collective total of $1.7 billion at the…
One of the standout offerings from the 2015 Phoenix Film Festival was Khalil Sullin’s sci-fi drama Listening, which explores the moral and ethical issues that arise…
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was a smash hit at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, premiering to a standing ovation and garnering rave reviews throughout…
Director Marcus Nispel certainly knows horror – he directed 2003’s stellar remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and was also behind the camera for the imaginative Friday…
There’s no denying that Beach Boys songwriter Brian Wilson is one of the most talented and influential musicians of the 20th century, and it’s a bit…
Get Hard is a shining example of a finished product not being greater than the sum of its parts. The idea of bringing together two comedic heavyweights isn’t…
The 15th Annual Phoenix Film Festival occurs this year from Thursday, March 26th to Thursday, April 2nd. Continually breaking attendance records since its inception, last year’s…
The Final Girls was one of my favorite movies from the 2015 SXSW Film Festival, and seeing it with a late-night audience at the Paramount Theater…