I was, you will know if you read the review, not a fan of “Hotel Transylvania 2.” I thought the message was an awful, disgusting, one. For this third film in the franchise, “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation,” still directed… Read More ›
movie review
Movie Review: “The First Purge”
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 ›
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: “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: “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: “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 ›
Not a Movie Review: “Borg vs. McEnroe”
“You cannot be serious! That ball was on the line! Chalk flew up!” Back in 2004, I used to hear John McEnroe yell that day after day after day and now, 14 years later, I can still hear it in my… 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: “Gringo” (2018)
It would be very easy to nitpick “Gringo,” the new comedy directed by Nash Edgerton with a script from Anthony Tambakis and Matthew Stone. After all, plenty of scenes don’t work, there are more coincidences than one can shake a… Read More ›
Movie Review: “War for the Planet of the Apes”
At one point during “War for the Planet of the Apes,” the audience watches as a Colonel (Woody Harrelson) and his troops listen to a poor recording of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The troops go from standing in formation over to… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Beatriz at Dinner”
There is good in this world and there is evil and while it isn’t always easy to tell the two apart in real life, in movies and TV it can be more simple. When one sits down to watch Miguel… Read More ›
The TV and Film Guy's Reviews 