Maddy Whittier lives in a house that, like the Mars biosphere training facility, is completely sealed off from the rest of the world – because Maddy has Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), making her essentially allergic to almost everything. When Olly Bright’s family moves in next door, he notices her looking out her window and is […]
Tag: Movie Reviews
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Is a Kinetic Slog!
Guy Ritchie made his bones (so to speak) on hard-edged crime films with wicked humor and striking visuals. Then he went big budget with Sherlock Holmes and provided a very different (but surprisingly canonical) consulting detective. Next up was the criminally underrated The Man From U.N.C.L.E. – the best non-Bond Bond flick since the first […]
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Same Only Different!
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is not as fresh and unexpected as Vol. 1 – how could it be? Instead, Vol. 2 follows the Star Wars plan of taking the characters who came together in Vol. 1 and separating them into unexpected combinations to dig into who they are – while engaging in explosive […]
The Circle: The Creepiness of 100% Transparency!
The Circle is a film that takes the idea of connectedness (email, social media, phone, etc.) to its logical and genuinely creepy extension. Mae is temping as a customer service representative for an unnamed – company and hating it – when a friend gets her an interview at the ultimate social media company, The Circle.
Free Fire: Quentin Tarantino X Tex Avery!
A weapons deal goes south when two of the lowest men on the organizational depth chart go full wakka-wakka-garbanzo-beans nuts. The result is a one-act setup and an hour of what might be described as Tex Avery directing Quentin Tarantino action sequences.
The Fate Of The Furious Lacks A Not So Little Something!
There’s a Paul Walker-sized hole in the middle of The Fate of the Furious that the creative team and cast try to gloss over with bigger and more ridiculous stunts than ever before. The addition of Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw as a member of the team, and Scott Eastwood as Mr. Nobody’s new aide help, […]
Gifted Isn’t As Brilliant As Mary But It’s Still Pretty Bright!
We’ve seen more than a few movies about single parents trying to give a gifted child a normal life. Some have been brilliant; others have been awful. Gifted isn’t brilliant, but it’s got heart, and a few tweaks to what might otherwise have been a completely formulaic exercise.
Your Name. – A Unique Romance In Time and Space!
Your Name. is a unique romance in that it’s protagonists fall in love from learning about each other while in each other’s bodies.
Going In Style – Grey Power!
Going in Style is the rare remake that is better than the original. That’s because it creates a plausible (if not entirely believable) set of circumstances in which three octogenarians are forced to consider the unlikely remedy of robbing a bank – and are smart enough to do it.
Ghost in the Shell: Visually Stunning Action with a Brain!
Ghost in the Shell is based on a Japanese manga by Masamune Shirow and a classic anime by Mamoru Oshii – both of which deal with the questions of what constitutes identity and whether humanity remains when the line between human and machine disappears. Rupert Sanders’ live-action Ghost in the Shell touches on these ideas […]
The Boss Baby Milks Babies and Puppies for Laughs!
The Boss Baby is the story of how a baby who was never born and his seven-year old brother saved the world from the ultimate threat: the ultimate puppy!