The first John Wick film was one of the rare action flicks to actually warrant the title film. It was mad crazy in terms of action and remarkably thorough at sketching out the world in which the characters lived and worked. John Wick Chapter 2 expands that world in fun, messy ways and is even […]
Tag: Movie Reviews
The Space Between Us Doesn’t Exactly Soar But It Gets There!
Talk about an awkward teen romance! Gardner Eliot is the first true Martian – born there in 2018 – and the first true Martian orphan (his mother died in childbirth). When he meets Tulsa, another orphan, via the Internet (by 2034 we have instantaneous internet connections between Earth and Mars!), he falls in love.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter?
Milla Jovovich’s Alice is back to put an end to Umbrella corp. and its hideous creations once and for all. In a movie that’s the diametric opposite end of the spectrum from the charming hokum of A Dog’s Purpose, the one thing RE6 has in common with that good natured effort is dogs – in […]
A Dog’s Purpose Is Heartwarming Hokum!
Based on a novel by W. Bruce Cameron (who co-wrote the script), A Dog’s Purpose is at least a three-hankie film. Heartstrings are plucked and the story of a reincarnating dog comes full circle for an old-fashioned Hollywood happy ending – and despite being hokum, it works beautifully. It’s just a shame that the trailers […]
War on Everyone: Three’s Not (Quite) The Charm!
John Michael McDonagh’s third film War on Everyone – on iTunes and VOD on February 3rd – isn’t quite as sharp as his previous features, but it’s still a fast-paced bit of lunatic fun. The film follows two corrupt detectives out to frame and blackmail every crook they can – until they encounter someone who might be […]
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage – ‘90s Action Today!
Xander Cage rises from the dead after fifteen years to save the world again in the sequel no one in particular asked for – so the surprise is that it’s good-natured ‘90s fun with today’s technology. xXx3 opens with Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) pitching the Triple X program to football (soccer to you) star […]
The Founder – A Warts & Warts Tale of Success!
The Founder is the true story of how a persistent salesman talked two brothers with a unique way of selling burgers, fries, shakes and sodas into going bigger – then ditched them and became a rich man. That unique way of selling burgers was the assembly line method that McDonald’s still uses today.
Split – Shyamalan’s Best Since Unbreakable!
It’s been a long while since M. Night Shyamalan has produced a movie that’s as good as Split – just over sixteen years, in fact (since Unbreakable). He’s come close before – sixteen months ago, he almost did it with the fatally flawed The Visit – but he’s finally put it all together in this […]
Hidden Figures Is a God-Ordained Miracle!
Hidden Figures, which had a two theater Christmas release for awards consideration, opens wide this weekend and it is a remarkable film. The story of three African American women who made major contributions to the space race while working for NASA in 1961, it is a story of glorious achievement against a background of casual […]
La La Land Rejuvenates Movie Musicals!
La La Land is a strange beast – influenced equally by Hollywood musicals like Singing in the Rain (to which there is a fun reference) and Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – that is something more than mere colorful fun. Damien Chazelle’s second film is the story of two struggling artists – jazz pianist […]
Timeless Fences Prompts Brilliant Performances!
August Wilson’s play Fences is a timeless – and therefore timely – story about an African American man dealing with race relations, marriage, fatherhood and a past that was never quite what he wanted it to be.