The third “Purge” movie, “The Purge: Election Year,” effectively forced the franchise to head in a (or another) new direction and so it has, with the latest entry offering up the tale of “The First Purge.” Although the film is… Read More ›
review
Movie Review: “Uncle Drew”
The goals of a film are an essential part in determining whether it is a success. Not every movie sets out to win an Oscar. Not every movie sets out to make an audience understand a deep-seated societal ill. Some… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Sicario: Day of the Soldado”
It is possible that in my preparation for reviewing “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” I made a mistake. That is, it ought not have been an error, but it certainly hampered my enjoyment of the sequel to the 2015 version… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”
The original “Jurassic Park” features a series of discussions weighing the benefits and problems of having created dinosaurs in our present world. It clearly comes down against the scientific act, but it at least goes in for a discussion of… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Ocean’s 8”
The new “Ocean’s 8,” which features a female-centric cast, is most definitely a part of the same universe as the three films directed by Steven Soderbergh. We know this because Sandra Bullock’s Debbie Ocean acknowledges that George Clooney’s Danny Ocean was… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Hotel Artemis”
A lot of movies (for that matter a lot of television shows and books as well) make promises. Sometimes these promises are implied, not explicit, but they exist nonetheless. At the outset of the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” we are… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
As with so many children, when I was young I watched “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Who doesn’t remember him putting on his sweater and changing his shoes as he came in at the start of every episode. I was always a little confused… Read More ›
Movie Review: “American Animals”
There is some distinctly different about “American Animals,” the new movie from writer-director Bart Layton. Where the film, which is the based on the true story of four college students who formulate a plan to steal valuable books from an… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Mary Shelley”
We all like to have explanations, to understand where people are coming from. This is certainly the case with a biopic – they afford the opportunity to get to know, even if in fictionalized fashion, how an author came up… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Deadpool 2”
At the outset of the first “Deadpool” movie we are promised that it is a story of love. And so it is. In similar fashion “Deadpool 2” promises us it is a story of family. And so it is… kind of…. Read More ›
Movie Review: “Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story”
Even if it doesn’t entirely succeed, there is something admirable about Ashley Bell’s documentary, “Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story.” The piece follows Bell who is accompanying elephant rescuers in Thailand as they attempt to move an ill elephant 500 miles… Read More ›
Movie Review: “I Feel Pretty”
Written and directed by Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein, Amy Schumer’s latest vehicle, “I Feel Pretty,” has all the appearances of a comedy intended to have a message. The trouble with the movie is that after watching it, it’s impossible… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare”
Imagine, if you will, a bunch of drunken college seniors, down in Mexico for spring break, ready to party one last time before the “real world” descends upon them. There is liquor. There is debauchery. There is infighting. There is more… Read More ›
Movie Review: “A Quiet Place” (2018)
In its best moments, writer-director-executive producer-star John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” is not just a terrifying story of monsters who kill anything they hear, but the smaller story of a family just struggling to survive. It is a movie concerned… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Blockers”
Is it possible to make a raunchy teenage sex comedy today, one that focuses on a diversity of opinions and backgrounds and sexual orientations, one that has fun with the genre, one that notes the double standards while still centering… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Ready Player One”
I will say right up front that I have two very distinct sets of feelings about “Ready Player One.” The first of these notes how much fun it is to sit there and point out each and every visual in the… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Pacific Rim Uprising”
I am not a huge fan of the first “Pacific Rim” movie. The Guillermo del Toro movie may feature great actions sequences and a stirring speech or two, but the main storyline is a strictly paint-by-numbers affair, one we have… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Isle of Dogs”
Wes Anderson is a filmmaker truly adept at crafting an image. Every frame feels carefully composed, every camera angle considered. Watching a Wes Anderson film one gets the sense that they are truly witnessing his vision on screen and a story… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Tomb Raider”
At the opening of the new “Tomb Raider” film, our heroine, Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander), gets beaten quite badly while sparring in the ring. The scene is poorly shot, with quick cuts and a bouncing camera that make it difficult… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Love, Simon”
In the new movie, “Love, Simon,” a teenage boy faces the need to tell his family and friends that he is gay. That is, understandably, already a difficult thing for him to face, but it’s one made all the more… Read More ›