When telling a story, the question of motivation is an important one – why do the people in it do what they do, what prompts them to follow a certain path. In movies (or books or TV, etc.), the reasons… Read More ›
review
Movie Review: “The Wind” (2019)
It is a wonderful setup for a movie – two lonely houses on the prairie, no one around for miles, and some sort of evil spirit lurking. The spirit that comes at night, on the wind, and terrorizes the women… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Teen Spirit”
There is something deeply unsettling about writer-director Max Minghella’s “Teen Spirit.” The film, which stars Elle Fanning, is Minghella’s first feature as a director and while it shows flashes of brilliance, they are not carried through. What starts as a fascinating… Read More ›
Movie Review: “The Chaperone” (2019)
Once upon a time, there was a famous actress named Louise Brooks. This is true. When she wet to New York to study dancing, she was accompanied by a chaperone. This too, seemingly, is true. However, the new film written… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Shazam!”
There is a point in “Shazam!” when one of Batman’s batarangs is dropped to floor, harmlessly pinging out of site. This can be seen as a metaphor at this moment for the entirety of the DCEU – oh sure, the… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Dragged Across Concrete”
At 158 minutes, writer-director S. Craig Zahler’s latest film, “Dragged Across Concrete,” is not exactly short. Instead—and happily—it is exactly how long it needs to be. Zahler has created a movie which is intricate and detailed, where nothing lags, where… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Us” (2019)
In just a few weeks, the Jordan Peele produced update to “The Twilight Zone” is going to launch. It is impossible to know that fact and not look at Peele’s newest film, “Us,” and see it as him doing an… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Wonder Park”
The best theme parks are truly magical places. They are these locales of wonder and excitement where anything and everything can happen. They are scary and fun and enchanting and eye-opening. They are places to wander by yourself and to… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Yardie”
A description of Idris Elba’s first directorial effort, “Yardie,” would make the movie sound as though it is something with real weight to it. It isn’t. It is a movie which meanders, never quite at ease with where it is… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Apollo 11”
However it may play on the small screen, or even smaller big screens, in IMAX, “Apollo 11” is a powerful piece of filmmaking. The documentary, as its name implies, focuses on the Apollo 11 trip to the moon in July… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Greta” (2019)
There are moments in the new film, “Greta,” that are entrancingly artful. The opening credits play over the wonderful “Where are You,” and as they roll, the audience watches a young woman pick up a purse that has been left… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Happy Death Day 2 U”
Released in 2017, “Happy Death Day” offers up a wonderfully funny “Groundhog Day”-esque take on a serial killer story. An insufferable college student, Tree (Jessica Rothe), is forced to relive a day over and over again as a killer in… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Isn’t it Romantic” (2019)
Sometimes in life you are forced to make a choice — you can either have option A or option B, but not both. Sometimes, each option is incompatible with the other. Try to get both, and what you end up… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Fighting with my Family”
During one particularly telling scene in the biographical film “Fighting with my Family,” Vince Vaughn’s Hutch, a man who trains prospective WWE wrestlers, explains that wrestling ability is only part of what it takes to be a superstar in that… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Alita: Battle Angel”
It is possible in this day and age to produce a stunningly beautiful, completely entrancing, and utterly remarkable looking film. This is the sort of piece which brings to our world that which we all know to be fake, but… Read More ›
Movie Review: “What Men Want”
Make no mistake, Taraji P. Henson’s new comedy, “What Men Want,” is not some silly movie with no deeper purpose than to make the audience laugh (although it does do that). Directed by Adam Shankman and based on the Mel Gibson-Helen… Read More ›
Movie Review: “The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part”
The first “LEGO Movie” proved to all the doubters out there that basing a film on a toy does not automatically mean that what is being put on screen has to be a disappointment. Now, after a spinoff movie starring LEGO… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Cold Pursuit”
It was all the way back in 2009 that the Liam Neeson film “Taken” hit theaters, and it become clear at that moment that Neeson has a very particular set of skills involving gripping portrayals in dark action thrillers. Neeson… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Miss Bala” (2019)
Ostensibly, the Gina Rodriguez starring “Miss Bala” offers a great lead role for the actress, one with a strong female character in the middle of everything. This is a movie about a makeup artist, Gloria (Rodriguez), finding herself caught between… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Arctic” (2019)
After the dark backgrounded opening titles, “Arctic” opens on an exceptionally bright scene. People may blink and turn away as their eyes adjust to this new reality. It is the only time during the entire affair that they will turn… Read More ›
The TV and Film Guy's Reviews 