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 ›
reviews
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: “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: “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: “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 ›
Movie Review: “Adult Life Skills”
In 2016, writer/director Rachel Tunnard’s “Adult Life Skills” won the Nora Ephron Prize at the Tribeca Film Festival. Now, in 2019, the film finally is being released in theaters and on demand here in the United States (it is a… Read More ›
Movie Review: “The Standoff at Sparrow Creek”
It has become very popular to offer up shades of grey in both movies and television, to blur the lines between which group of folks are the good guys, and which group are the bad. Sometimes this is the result of… Read More ›
Movie Review: “An Acceptable Loss”
There are difficult, terrible, decisions that have to be made by the individuals in our government; decisions with massive ramifications and unknown outcomes. That knowledge has to weigh upon those making said decisions, and the new film by writer/director Joe… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened”
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines schadenfreude as “enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others.” It is an idea that will be in the viewer’s minds well before the Chris Smith documentary, “Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened,” discusses anything remotely… Read More ›
Movie Review: “A Dog’s Way Home”
If you are on the fence about wanting a dog, the Charles Martin Smith directed “A Dog’s Way Home” is likely to push you into a new four-legged friend. Voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard, the adorable pooch, Bella, at the… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Glass” (2019)
For better or for worse, but certainly by his design, M. Night Shyamalan’s films are largely defined by their “twist,” that moment late in the movie where the story is suddenly turned on its ear, forcing the audience to reassess… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Second Act” (2018)
All movies, to a greater or lesser degree, require suspension of disbelief. It is a necessary part of the experience and the mere need for it does not make a movie a disappointment. That said, sometimes what is asked of… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Stan & Ollie”
Some biopics can spend three hours talking about a person, or people, and never seem to get to the heart of the matter. No matter how deeply they delve, there is always something just intrinsically missing. Other films, even with a… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
It may sound impossible, but what if we really did have room for another Spider-Man origin story? Watch “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and you’ll be convinced that this new movie was absolutely worth making. Directors Bob Perischetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes”
More than halfway through the Alexis Bloom documentary, “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes,” an interesting question comes to the fore – did Roger Ailes believe the stories he had Fox News peddle, or was he just in… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Mary Queen of Scots” (2018)
At its outset, “Mary Queen of Scots” is a slow-paced chess match between two queens — Mary Stuart of Scotland (Saoirse Ronan) and Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie)of England. In fact, at points it seems curious that the film is not… Read More ›
Movie Review: “The American Meme”
What if there is a dark side to fame? What if money does not always buy happiness? What if there are actual real-world consequences to one’s actions? Such are the supposedly shocking revelations put forth by the new documentary, “The American… Read More ›
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