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.

Nicholas Hoult in Tolkien

Movie Review: ‘Tolkien’

A period drama about the early years of the celebrated author who penned The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien stars ...

By Brent HankinsMay 7, 20190

Judi Dench in Red Joan

Movie Review: ‘Red Joan’

When we first encounter Joan Stanley (Judi Dench), she seems like a run-of-the-mill octogenarian, pruning rose bushes in her front yard or pausing ...

By Brent HankinsApril 26, 20190

Chris Evans as Captain America in Avengers Endgame

Movie Review: ‘Avengers: Endgame’

One year ago, Avengers: Infinity War accomplished the unthinkable as a decade of storytelling in the Marvel Cinematic Universe coalesced into a thrilling, ...

By Brent HankinsApril 23, 20190

We Believe in Dinosaurs

Movie Review: ‘We Believe in Dinosaurs’

“This is a fossil created during Noah’s flood,” says Doug Henderson, lead exhibit designer at the Creation Museum. He’s referencing a complete Allosaurus ...

By Brent HankinsApril 19, 20190

Amy Madigan, Gerard Canonico, Arden Cho, Omar Chapparo and Ashanti in Stuck

Movie Review: ‘Stuck’

New musical Stuck, directed by Michael Berry and adapted from the stage production of the stage name, purports to teach us that we ...

By Brent HankinsApril 17, 20190

Elizabeth McGovern in The Chaperon

Movie Review: ‘The Chaperone’

Louise Brooks was an icon of the Jazz Age, a trendsetting star of the silent screen whose bob hairstyle and short skirts became ...

By Brent HankinsApril 13, 20190

Lily James and Tessa Thompson in Little Woods

PFF 2019 Movie Review: ‘Little Woods’

Like the other residents of Little Woods, North Dakota, Oleander “Ollie” King (Tessa Thompson) does what she needs to survive. In the past, ...

By Brent HankinsApril 11, 20190

Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench in All is True

PFF 2019 Movie Review: ‘All is True’

You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger fan of William Shakespeare than Academy Award nominee Kenneth Branagh: for thirty years, he’s been directing ...

By Brent HankinsApril 10, 20190

Pet Sematary

Movie Review: ‘Pet Sematary’

Stephen King is arguably the most well-known horror writer of all time, and certainly the most successful, but Hollywood adaptations of his work ...

By Brent HankinsApril 5, 20190

2019 Phoenix Film Festival Preview

The 2019 Phoenix Festival gets underway this week, kicking off ten days of programming with a lineup that includes a few Sundance hits, ...

By Brent HankinsApril 3, 20190

Brie Larson in Unicorn Store

Movie Review: ‘Unicorn Store’

“I don’t know how to be a grownup” laments Kit (Brie Larson) about halfway through Unicorn Store, a candy-coated comedy whose central character’s ...

By Brent HankinsApril 3, 20190

Crown the Empire performs at the Marquee Theater in Tempe, AZ on March 29, 2019. Photo by Brent Hankins

Concert Reviews

PHOTOS: Crown the Empire at The Marquee Theater

TEMPE — Less than five months after their last appearance, Crown the Empire returned to the Marquee Theater on Friday for a co-headlining ...

By Brent HankinsMarch 30, 20190

We Came as Romans perform at the Marquee Theater in Tempe, AZ on March 29, 2019. Photo by Brent Hankins.

Concert Reviews

PHOTOS: We Came as Romans at The Marquee Theater

TEMPE — Post-hardcore outfit We Came as Romans returned to Arizona on Friday night, performing at the Marquee Theater as part of their ...

By Brent HankinsMarch 30, 20190

Eva Green in Dumbo

Movie Review: ‘Dumbo’

Over the past few years, Walt Disney Studios has taken a number of characters and stories from their animated classics and updated them ...

By Brent HankinsMarch 26, 20190

Garth Brooks performs at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ on March 23, 2019. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Concert Reviews

Review: Garth Brooks rocks record-breaking crowd at State Farm Stadium

Country music superstar Garth Brooks returned to the Valley on Saturday night with a sold-out show at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ. ...

By Brent HankinsMarch 24, 20190

Zachary Levi and Jack Dylan Grazer in Shazam

Second Opinon: ‘Shazam’ Review

The doom and gloom of the DC Extended Universe’s first few efforts is beginning to feel like a distant memory, and the course ...

By Brent HankinsMarch 23, 20190

Colson Baker, Douglas Booth, Daniel Webber, and Iwan Rheon in The Dirt

Movie Review: ‘The Dirt’

The past few years have sparked something of a resurgence in music biopics, with Hollywood tackling subjects ranging from Beach Boys genius Brian ...

By Brent HankinsMarch 22, 20192

Lupita Nyong'o, Evan Alex, and Shahadi Wright Joseph in Us

Movie Review: ‘Us’

Sketch comedy star Jordan Peele shocked the world with his 2017 directorial debut Get Out, a brilliant undertaking that was equal parts thriller, ...

By Brent HankinsMarch 20, 20190

Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgard in The Hummingbird Project.

Movie Review: ‘The Hummingbird Project’

Making an engaging film about the mundane details of Wall Street trading is no easy feat. Adam McKay managed to pull it off ...

By Brent HankinsMarch 19, 20190

Emily Blunt, Joel Dawson, Pixie Davies and Nathanael Saleh in Mary Poppins Returns.

DVD & Blu-Ray Reviews

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Mary Poppins Returns’

Taking a break from its ongoing quest to update each of its classic animated films into live-action/CG hybrids, Walt Disney Studios dusts off ...

By Brent HankinsMarch 18, 20190

Elizabeth Holmes in The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley

SXSW 2019 Movie Review: ‘The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley’

“I don’t have many secrets,” says Elizabeth Holmes in the opening moments of Alex Gibney’s riveting new documentary, The Inventor: Out for Blood ...

By Brent HankinsMarch 13, 20190

Akio Sakurai in Mr. Jimmy. Photo courtesy of SXSW

SXSW 2019 Movie Review: ‘Mr. Jimmy’

In a crowded, dimly lit Tokyo club, a guitarist rips through nearly three hours of Led Zeppelin covers. But the versions of “Stairway ...

By Brent HankinsMarch 9, 20190

Brie Larson in Captain Marvel

Movie Review: ‘Captain Marvel’

Despite a whopping twenty films under its banner, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a bit late to the party when it comes to ...

By Brent HankinsMarch 5, 20192

Movie Review: ‘Fighting With My Family’

Ask a random person on the street if they can name a WWE Superstar, and their response would likely be a name like ...

By Brent HankinsFebruary 21, 20190

Panic! at the Disco performs at the Honda Center in Anaheim on February 14, 2019. Photo by Jeff Chamseddine

Concert Reviews

REVIEW: Panic! at the Disco thrills sold out crowd at Honda Center

ANAHEIM — Couples who elected to spend Valentine’s Day at the Honda Center with Panic! at the Disco were treated to an extravagant, ...

By Brent HankinsFebruary 15, 20190

Griffin Gluck and Pete Davidson in Big Time Adolescence

Sundance 2019 Movie Review: ‘Big Time Adolescence’

Many of us can recall someone older (and allegedly wiser) telling us that our teenage years would be the best of our lives, ...

By Brent HankinsFebruary 4, 20190

Aisling Franciosi in The Nightingale

Sundance 2019 Movie Review: ‘The Nightingale’

The Nightingale, Jennifer Kent’s follow-up to her 2014 horror hit The Babadook, is far removed from the supernatural scares of her previous work. ...

By Brent HankinsJanuary 31, 20190

Alice Englert in Them That Follow

Sundance 2019 Movie Review: ‘Them That Follow’

A rumination on the dangers of zealotry and blind devotion to faith, Them That Follow centers on Mara (Alice Englert), a young woman ...

By Brent HankinsJanuary 31, 20190

Lupita Nyong'o in Little Monsters

Sundance 2019 Movie Review: ‘Little Monsters’

Little Monsters opens with a series of arguments between Dave (Alexander England) and his longtime girlfriend, the last of which results in him ...

By Brent HankinsJanuary 31, 20190

Sundance 2019 Movie Review: ‘Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile’

Veteran documentarian Joe Berlinger — best known for the Paradise Lost trilogy, covering the arrest, incarceration and eventual release of the West Memphis ...

By Brent HankinsJanuary 31, 20190

Elton John performs at Gila River Arena in Glendale, AZ on January 26, 2019. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Concert Reviews

REVIEW: Elton John says goodbye to Arizona in final tour stop

GLENDALE -- After five decades of live performances, Elton John is hanging up his sequined jackets and oversized sunglasses, but not before making ...

By Brent HankinsJanuary 27, 20190

Sundance 2019 Movie Review: ‘Stieg Larsson: The Man Who Played With Fire’

Stieg Larsson may not quite be a household name, but anyone privileged enough to have read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo will ...

By Brent HankinsJanuary 26, 20190

Movie Review: ‘Glass’

When the final moments of M. Night Shyamalan’s Split revealed that the events of the film took place in the same universe as ...

By Brent HankinsJanuary 17, 20190

Every Time I Die performs at Club Red in Mesa, AZ. Photo Credit: Brent Hankins

Concert Reviews

PHOTOS: Every Time I Die bring “20 Years of Bullshit” to Mesa, AZ

MESA -- Every Time I Die rolled into Club Red for the latest stop on their "20 Years of Bullshit" tour, and the ...

By Brent HankinsNovember 20, 20180

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