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.

[INTERVIEW] “Sinners and Saints” star Johnny Strong discusses his return to the genre.

After appearing in such action movie classics as The Fast and the Furious and Black Hawk Down, actor Johnny Strong walked away from ...

By Brent HankinsJanuary 10, 20122

[REVIEW] “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” is frightening, disturbing, and fascinating.

After becoming a bestseller in multiple languages and spawning a trio of successful Swedish films, it didn’t take long for Stieg Larsson’s The ...

By Brent HankinsDecember 21, 20110

[REVIEW] Don’t trust “The Sitter” with your children… or your money.

In The Sitter, Jonah Hill stars as Noah, a jobless twenty-something slacker that lives at home with his mom and spends his days ...

By Brent HankinsDecember 9, 20110

INTERVIEW – Shailene Woodley talks dysfunction, humor, and beauty in ‘The Descendants.’

It’s a sunny afternoon in downtown Phoenix, and Shailene Woodley is flitting from table to table in the penthouse suite at the Hotel ...

By Brent HankinsNovember 23, 20110

[REVIEW] Jason Segel crafts a brilliant, triumphant return for “The Muppets.”

It’s been twelve years since the Muppets have been featured on the big screen, and with their last adventure (Muppets From Space) resulting ...

By Brent HankinsNovember 23, 20110

[REVIEW] Dysfunction breeds perfection in “The Descendants.”

Alexander Payne hasn’t directed a feature-length film since 2004’s Sideways, but if you’re concerned that his seven-year absence might have dulled his storytelling ...

By Brent HankinsNovember 23, 20110

[REVIEW] DiCaprio struggles to save “J. Edgar.”

Allow me to begin by saying that I went into J. Edgar completely biased – Clint Eastwood is one of my favorite directors, ...

By Brent HankinsNovember 11, 20110

[REVIEW] ‘Tis the season to get baked with “A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas.”

Six years after the events of Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, Harold (John Cho) is married to Maria and working a ...

By Brent HankinsNovember 4, 20110

[REVIEW] “Anonymous” is rife with deception, rebellion, and romance.

Based on a semi-popular theory that William Shakespeare’s works were actually written by someone else, Roland Emmerich’s Anonymous is full of more secrecy, ...

By Brent HankinsOctober 28, 20111

[REVIEW] Clock runs out on “In Time” long before credits roll.

In the future, time is the only currency we know, as every human being is genetically engineered to stop aging at 25 and ...

By Brent HankinsOctober 28, 20110

[REVIEW] Gonzo journalism is born in “The Rum Diary.”

In The Rum Diary, failed novelist Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) has come to Puerto Rico to write for The San Juan Star, a ...

By Brent HankinsOctober 28, 20110

Perverting the Genre: A Conversation with John Cho and Kal Penn

It’s just after 11am in Phoenix, and after a long morning of radio and press appearances, John Cho and Kal Penn are seated ...

By Brent HankinsOctober 27, 20113

[REVIEW] “Footloose” remake dances to the same beat… but we don’t mind.

I’ll be honest – I was completely against this idea as soon as I heard about it. The original Footloose is one of ...

By Brent HankinsOctober 14, 20112

[REVIEW] Tempers flare, dialogue crackles in “The Ides of March.”

How far would you be willing to go for something you truly believe in? Would you sacrifice your own morals and integrity for ...

By Brent HankinsOctober 12, 20110

“Like Crazy” Q&A w/ Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones from the Scottsdale International Film Festival.

The 2011 Scottsdale International Film Festival opened with Like Crazy, an unconventional love story starring Anton Yelchin and newcomer Felicity Jones. We were ...

By Brent HankinsOctober 9, 20110

[REVIEW] Laughter is the best medicine in “50/50.”

Adam Lerner has a nice house in a quiet neighborhood, where he spends time with his wannabe artist girlfriend, Rachel (Bryce Dallas Howard). ...

By Brent HankinsSeptember 30, 20112

[INTERVIEW] Amy Ettinger, Director of the Scottsdale International Film Festival.

The 2011 Scottsdale International Film Festival will kick off this Friday, September 30, at the Harkins Shea 14 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The festival ...

By Brent HankinsSeptember 30, 20111

[REVIEW] Pitt and Hill knock one over the fence in “Moneyball.”

Confession: I’m not a baseball fan. I played Little League when I was a kid, mostly at the insistence of my parents, but ...

By Brent HankinsSeptember 23, 20110

[REVIEW] “Killer Elite” gets dragged down by incoherent plot and unfortunate facial hair.

As a rule, I tend to enjoy movies that feature Jason Statham being a complete badass. The guy has a weird sort of ...

By Brent HankinsSeptember 23, 20111

[REVIEW] “Drive” is awash with style, but not at the expense of substance.

Let’s get this out of the way right now: Drive is the most stylish and artistic film I’ve seen all year, and I ...

By Brent HankinsSeptember 16, 20111

[REVIEW] Thrilling, brutal third act is well worth price of admission for “Straw Dogs.”

After her father passes away, actress Amy Sumner (Kate Bosworth) and her screenwriter husband David (James Marsden) decide to relocate to her hometown ...

By Brent HankinsSeptember 16, 20112

[REVIEW] “Warrior” focuses more on drama and emotional depth, less on overblown action sequences.

No one can deny that, over the past decade, MMA (mixed martial arts, for the five of you that don’t know what I’m ...

By Brent HankinsSeptember 9, 20111

[REVIEW] Soderbergh’s “Contagion” elevated by intelligent writing and A-list cast.

Less than 48 hours after returning home from an overseas business trip with a severe case of jet lag, Beth Emhoff is dead. ...

By Brent HankinsSeptember 9, 20110

[REVIEW] Believe the hype: Kevin Smith’s “Red State” is shocking, visceral, and terrifying.

Let’s get this out of the way right at the beginning: Kevin Smith’s Red State is leaps and bounds above the director’s previous ...

By Brent HankinsSeptember 4, 20110

[REVIEW] “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” is aptly titled.

Before we begin, allow me to say that I’m a tremendous fan of Guillermo Del Toro. He’s a creative genius with an unmatched ...

By Brent HankinsAugust 26, 20110

[REVIEW] “Conan the Barbarian” seeks revenge, audiences seek refunds.

It’s not often that I exit a theater with the sense that I have completely wasted the last two hours of my life, ...

By Brent HankinsAugust 19, 20111

[REVIEW] “30 Minutes or Less” delivers raunchy, irreverent, hilarious comedy.

The success of 2007’s Superbad opened the doors for a resurgence of raunchy, ridiculous buddy comedies. Role Models, Stepbrothers, The Other Guys and ...

By Brent HankinsAugust 12, 20112

[REVIEW] “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” reboots franchise with solid script and amazing performances.

BEWARE – MINOR SPOILERS. I remember seeing the Tim Burton remake of Planet of the Apes about ten years ago, and after seriously ...

By Brent HankinsAugust 6, 20113

1...20 2122

Login/Sign up