When Matthew (Ryan Reynolds) pulls into the parking lot of a local diner with his 10-year-old daughter, Cassandra, he doesn’t think twice about leaving her in…
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.
The Phoenix Film Critics Society is pleased to announce the slate of nominees for our 2014 Annual Awards. The winner in each category will be announced on…
As Sons of Anarchy prepares to ride off into the sunset with tomorrow night’s series finale, veteran television actor Jimmy Smits is looking back and reflecting…
In 2010, a series of church fires plagued a 40-mile section of East Texas, beginning with the Little Hope Baptist Church outside of Canton. Originally suspected…
With only three episodes left, Sons of Anarchy is racing toward the finish line, and the hit FX drama should be pouring plenty of fuel on the…
Harry and Lloyd are back twenty years later in Dumb and Dumber To, the long-awaited sequel to the Farrelly Brothers’ smash hit comedy, Dumb and Dumber. Jim Carrey…
Awards season is about to explode in earnest, and we have a strong contender with the Stephen Hawking bio pic The Theory of Everything. The film…
Ever since the Disney acquisition of Marvel in 2009, fans of both entities have been awaiting the first true collaborative effort between the companies, and that…
Disney has long been at the forefront of technological advances in the animation film, and the studio’s latest project, Big Hero 6, is certainly no exception.…
If you’re a fan of FX’s hit series Justified, then you’re probably also a fan of star Jacob Pitts, who plays Deputy US Marshal Tim Gutterson. As…
When we first meet Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), he’s cutting sections of chain-link fence from a construction site to sell for scrap. It’s not exactly the…
Despite starring in some undeniably iconic roles early in his career, Keanu Reeves has struggled to maintain any sort of momentum, with every critically acclaimed performance or box…
Whiplash has the good fortune of not only having a tremendously appropriate title that works on many levels, but also stars two actors at the perfect time…
Some 20 years ago, Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) was the hottest actor in the world as star of the Birdman franchise, a series of films about a costumed…
Based on true events, 23 Blast is the inspirational story of high school football star Travis Freeman, who loses his eyesight overnight due to bacteria meningitis. The…
It’s Christmas Eve, 1899, and promising Oxford graduate Edward Newgate (Jim Sturgess) has arrived at the gates of Stonehearst Asylum to begin his residency under Superintendent Silas…
Within the hallowed halls of Winchester University, the fictional Ivy League school created for Justin Simien’s Dear White People, black students are frequently disenfranchised by their white counterparts.…
Sam (Billy Crudup) is a fast-talking, fast-living advertising exec, whose busy schedule and constant wheeling-and-dealing resulted in the dissolution of his marriage. He still has a good…
“Ideals are peaceful. History is violent.” These words, delivered by Brad Pitt’s scarred and battle-weary Sgt. Don Collier, are meant to bring some level of comfort…
After a well-received debut at the Sundance Film Festival, Justin Simien’s sharp-witted satire Dear White People is opening in limited release this week. The film follows…
Jason Reitman’s Men, Women and Children takes aim at communication in the digital age, offering a sobering and uncomfortably accurate portrait of the way we connect -…
Since his first appearance as Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. has enjoyed a seemingly never-ending parade of roles that have allowed him…
My first exposure to Gone Girl came when I devoured Gillian Flynn’s critically acclaimed novel in less than two days, frequently succumbing to thoughts of “just…
When we last heard from Sons of Anarchy star Kim Coates, he promised that the seventh and final season of the hit FX series would see the…
A new collective of film critics has been established in the Phoenix area, with a goal of coming together as “an association for professional film critique and…
Kevin Smith’s Tusk is about as far removed from the director’s early body of work as one could possibly get, yet still carries that personal touch that…
The Skeleton Twins is the second feature release from director Craig Johnson, and it tells the tale of a broken brother-and-sister duo seeking solace in each other. Taking place…
Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett have made quite a name for themselves over the past few years, responsible for such genre offerings as V/H/S and…
After providing audiences with a unique twist on the horror genre with last year’s critically acclaimed You’re Next, the writing and directing team of Adam Wingard…
After the shocking events of the Season Six finale, Sons of Anarchy returned to the airwaves last night for the seventh and final season, with an…
Based on a trilogy of novels by Guillermo del Toro and author Chuck Hogan, The Strain has reimagined the vampire horror genre, resonating with critics and viewers alike…
There’s no disputing the fact that Errol Flynn is a legend of the silver screen, an iconic figure remembered for his swashbuckling roles in The Sea…
Low budget horror films, particularly those of the found-footage variety, may have decreased in popularity over the past few years, but that isn’t stopping filmmakers from…
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is a film that does about what you’d expect from a sequel that finally hits theaters almost ten years after its predecessor -…