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 […]
Category: Movie Reviews
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 […]
The Founder Weaves Together a Fascinating Narrative About the American Dream
The Founder is the story of Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), the man who discovered the potential of a small hamburger joint in San Bernardino, California. It is the origin story of McDonalds. Having mild to moderate success as a salesman for various goods, Kroc finds himself both amused and intrigued when he receives an order […]
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 […]
Silence Speaks Volumes About Faith and Culture
Silence is the story of resilience in the face of persecution. Based on true events, director Martin Scorsese’s latest epic chronicles the tale of two Portuguese Catholic Jesuit priests, Sebastião Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Francisco Garrpe (Adam Driver), as they travel to Japan in the 17th century. There, the two men of God hope to […]
2016 Sheldon’s Favorite Fifteen – Films!
Despite low income and not being on every distributor’s critics list, I still saw one helluva lot of movies in 2016. A few were awful, a few were brilliant and most were somewhere in the middle. Fifteen were the absolute best I saw and slightly more than a handful more hovered on the edges of […]
Manchester by the Sea Explores the Tumultuous Tides of Grief
Manchester by the Sea is the story of Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), a man who has experienced loss in a nearly unimaginable way. At the film’s opening, Lee is living in Boston working as a maintenance man for several apartment complexes where he is mostly unappreciated. His is a solitary life, typically avoiding human contact […]
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 […]