“Ford v Ferrari” Review
As the triumphant tale of how Ford won the Le Mans race, I wasn’t all that enthralled to hop into the passenger seat of such a story. This was especially concerning for a picture that runs 2 1/2 hours that I fully expected to be bogged down in its checklist Continue Reading
“Terminator: Dark Fate” Review
Even though the Terminator franchise seems to have been stuck in the same gear since its initial time-travel premise, Dark Fate tries desperately to switch out as many parts as it can. Instead of taking place mostly in America, the battle shifts to Mexico and the Texas border. Instead of Continue Reading
“Zombieland: Double Tap” Review
Ten years have passed but the post-apocalyptic world of Zombieland has more or less remained the same. There are some new zombie types, a few more non-zombie faces and plenty of new zingers to sling. The snappy sass of the familiar foursome is still present and strong enough to keep Continue Reading
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” Review
The good news is that the sequel to 2014’s Maleficent has some notable improvements. It’s more colorful, magical, features a more solid story and a significant reduction in rape allegories. In its place, however, is a more milquetoast fantasy of familiar elements that comes off as Ferngully meets Guess Who’s Continue Reading
“Gemini Man” Review
It’s clear that in the two decades leading up to Gemini Man finally being produced that the focus was more on the tech than the script. Branded with gimmicks, the talk of the picture is more about how impressive and believable a computer-generated Will Smith appears on the screen. Another Continue Reading
“Joker” Review
Given the competition, I could easily see someone praising the surface-level sophistication of something like Joker greatly distancing itself from the current crop of comic book films. There’s no quippy superhero to save the day, no routine villain scheme of taking over Gotham and no anti-hero bent where our antagonist Continue Reading
“Once Upon a Time In Hollywood” Review
It’s pretty clear from Quentin Tarantino’s dialogue and homages from his many films that he’s a huge movie nerd, to say nothing of his many exciting chats about his favorite films. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is his ultimate tribute to his obsession with the medium. His film not Continue Reading
“Spider-Man: Far From Home” Review
As an epilogue to Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man swings into a new world that is a bit terrifying. After such a stellar legacy as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 11 years of great characters, does Spider-Man have what it takes to not only replace Iron Man but offer up a superhero outing Continue Reading
“Men in Black: International” Review
Sony once more mistakes the tech for the talent of remaking its familiar properties. Men in Black: International has all the decadence of numerous alien creatures, intergalactic technology, and plenty of well-dressed agents trying to keep the secret space alien populace in the shadows. But there’s not much of that Continue Reading
“Dark Phoenix” Review
The Dark Phoenix Saga I always found to be the most confusing of X-Men arcs when I watched it on the animated series. The good news is that this theatrical adaptation does away with a lot of excesses, filtering out all the extra sci-fi silliness and favoring a firmer focus Continue Reading