The Filmlosophers

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, get a bit sneaky with this week's review of Captive State (2019). Written and directed by Rupert Wyatt, the film stars John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, Machine Gun Kelly, and Vera Farmiga. Its depiction of a world held captive by aggressive, insect-like aliens hews closely to other films within the genre while also...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, power up for this week's review of Captain Marvel (2019). With a record-shattering global opening, the last Marvel Cinematic Universe film before Avengers: Endgame (2019) provides an enormous launchpad for the MCU's new standard-bearer, Brie Larson's Carol Danvers. Set in the 1990s, Captain Marvel features one of cinema's most e...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, rally together to deliver this week's review of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019). This franchise-finishing film reunites a voice cast that includes Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Craig Ferguson, and a new villain played by F. Murray Abraham. As Toothless works out a few new dance moves for the Li...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, break out the cue cards and goodie bags for this year's Oscars Recap. We're light on the fashion play-by-play and heavy on the sass as we dive into who won, who deserved to win and whether or not Samuel L. Jackson and Spike Lee had anything to do with the rise of the Koala Challenge on social media. Honorable mentions go out to...

The Filmlosophers pick apart the cybernetic workings of the latest film from Director Rober Rodriguez, Alita: Battle Angel (2019). Rodriguez, alongside producer and co-writer James Cameron, set to change the landscape of anime-live action adaptations with their latest cinema offering! The film stars Rosa Salazar as the titular role, alongside the incredible Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahe...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, host a pop music dance party for this week's review of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019). Mike Mitchell directs off a script from executive producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (who wrote and directed the first film), and the film stars Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Charlie Day, Alison Brie, Nick Offerm...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, get a little bit shallow with this week's review of A Star is Born (2018). As the fourth iteration of this particular storyline, the Oscar-nominated film modernizes the tale of an aging and substance-abusing musician who discovers a new talent and helps to launch her professional career. Directed by and starring Bradley Cooper,...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, dust off their swords and take a few practice swings for this week's review of The Kid Who Would Be King (2019). The film brings the myth of King Arthur, Excalibur, Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table into the present-day and caters strongly to the YA crowd in terms of both tone and complexity. Directed by Joe Cornish, the...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, get mental with this week's review of M. Night Shyamalan's Glass (2019), the trilogy-concluding sequel to Unbreakable (2000) and Split (2016). The film unites Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson and James McAvoy under one roof, as their respective characters are psychologically evaluated by franchise newcomer Sarah Paulson. Will Jac...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, take time to appreciate their surroundings with this week's review of Alfonso Cuarón's ROMA (2018). Comprised almost entirely of scenes taken from Cuarón's memory and shot on location in Mexico City, the film stars Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey and several others. Its gorgeous, panoramic cinematography...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, wax a bit nostalgic as they discuss the highs (and lows) of the films of yesteryear. Perusing through the library of reviews they've done for 2018, the Trio find themselves relishing in some of the most memorable times -both good and bad- in cinema. Nothing is off the table, as the conversation veers from the most ridiculous and...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, get a bit retro with this week's spirited review of Bumblebee (2018). Set in the late 1980s, the film stars Hailee Steinfeld as the original teenage "owner" of the fan-favorite, speech impaired Transformer. Directed by Travis Knight from a script by Christina Hodson, this latest entry in the critically maligned franchise co-star...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, get their "thwip" on in this week's review of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). The film features a generous assortment of Spider-Men, -Women and others from across the multiverse with a focus on solidifying the in-continuity origin story of Miles Morales as he takes up the heroic mantle from the Peter Parker of his real...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, get their steampunk on with this week's review of Mortal Engines (2018). Directed by Christian Rivers, this cacophonous and nearly incomprehensible film stars Hugo Weaving, Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Jihae, Ronan Raftery, Leila George, Patrick Malahide, and Stephen Lang. Producers and co-writers Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, man up and duke it out with this week's review of Creed II (2018). The follow-up to Ryan Coogler's critically-acclaimed expansion of the Rocky film franchise is directed this round by Steven Caple, Jr., and features returning stars Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson and Sylvester Stallone. The film also features the long-awaited...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, feel like they're stealing from the poor with this week's review of box office bomb Robin Hood (2018). Directed by Otto Bathurst, this latest retelling of the exploits of the popular English archer stars Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx, Ben Mendelsohn, Eve Hewson, Tim Minchin, and Jamie Dornan. Given the film's poor reception during i...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, experiment with a bit of augmented reality in this week's review of Wreck It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). Starring John C. Reilly as the title character and Sarah Silverman as the lovable candy-car racer Vanellope von Schweetz - along with ALL of the Disney princesses in comfy cameos - the new film exposes the hero...

The Filmlosophers fly out on their Firebolts in this week's review of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018). The film marks the second installment in the Fantastic Beasts film series, and the tenth overall in the Wizarding World franchise, which began with the Harry Potter film series. Starring Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Jude Law and Jo...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, test out their new panic room in this week's review of Halloween (2018). The film marks a return to form for the series, featuring Jamie Lee Curtis as battle-ready Laurie Strode as she prepares for a final showdown 40 years in the making against her nemesis, silent serial killer Michael Myers. Producer John Carpenter also return...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, bottle up their emotions for this week's review of First Man (2018). Director Damien Chazelle reunites with his leading man from La La Land, Ryan Gosling, for an introspective look at the personal story behind Neil Armstong's journey to become the first man to step onto the lunar surface in NASA's moon landing in 1969. Featuring...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, cough up some new personalities with this week's review of Venom (2018). The Sony Pictures film marks the studio's first foray into a Spiderverse without a Spider-Man (to this point, at least). Starring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed and Jenny Slate, Venom follows man-on-the-street journalist Eddie Brock on a confusingl...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, straddle state lines with this week's review of Bad Times at the El Royale (2018). Set in a rundown casino hotel where almost nothing is as it seems, the film features a number of familiar faces including Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson and Chris Hemsworth. It also marks a career-making turn from Cynthia Erivo, who also m...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, run without scissors for this week's review of A Simple Favor (2018). The film centers on Connecticut mommy vlogger Stephanie, played by Anna Kendrick, and her unusual friendship with a crass, Manhattan-based PR director played by Blake Lively. Directed by Paul Feig, the film also stars Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Linda Card...

HEY YOU GUYS! We're back! In this bonus episode, we discuss how incredible Marvel's Captain Marvel trailer looks, and why we may think it holds some key elements to what the future MCU will look like. What do you think? Listen in to hear our thoughts! Stick around and join the conversation as we are barely able to contain ourselves! So pull up a chair, and prepare for some bonus hilarity in "Extra...

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, prepare for the worst with this week's double feature review of two recent Netflix-distributed films: How It Ends (2018) and Extinction (2018). Both films explore themes of connection and loss against a backdrop of catastrophe, and they each fit broadly within the sci-fi subgenre of dystopic futures. Flavored with tinges of Mad...