Charlie’s Angels (2019)
Those are words I never dreamed I’d ever say, and yet I did – more than once (albeit silently to myself – while watching the latest big-screen incarnation of the
Years and Years (2019)
If it didn't already mirror real life, there would be something kind of brilliant about a brash new-to-politics B-grade celebrity rising to power based on her penchant to speak her
Onward (2020)
Onward’s backdrop is the idea that magic, which once saturated the world with wonder and spectacle, has been siphoned away over the centuries by technology and, well, general apathy. Unicorns
The Call of the Wild (2020)
When a story is told from the point of view of a dog, it seems like it would be an easy assumption to assume that it is "dumbed down" for
Birds of Prey (2020)
SYNOPSIS: It's open season on Harley Quinn when her explosive breakup with the Joker puts a big fat target on her back. Unprotected and on the run, Quinn faces the
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Andrew Garfield once again steps into Spidey’s suit (and Peter Parker’s shoes), this time dealing with a pair of nefarious foes – Jamie Foxx’s nerd-turned-villain Electro, and Dane DeHaan’s hugely
Transformers: The Age of Extinction (2014)
Transformers: The Age of Extinction kicks off like a folksy commercial for lemonade. Just picture a father and daughter living alone in a big Texas farmhouse surrounded by fields and the
Shoot The Hero
There comes a moment in most relationships where you really start to wonder if you can handle your partner's annoying tendencies for even one minute more. It's hugely unfortunate when
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992)
The only thing I've ever heard anyone say about Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot is, "That movie is SO stupid." For fifteen years I've taken this as a negative
Divergent (2014)
Setting: Dystopian Chicago—the buildings are decrepit, the water of the lake and the Chicago River seems to have retreated, and there is a tall electric wall built around the city.
Unexpected
When high school science teacher Samantha Abbott (Cobie Smulders) discovers she's pregnant, the news doesn't exactly inspire celebration. The timing is completely random and Samantha isn't particularly settled in her
American Ultra (2015)
Jesse Eisenberg tends to play stammering nerdy guys, perhaps a little over-intellectual, earnest, pale and weak. Now image a character like that being a stoner... yes, ok, it is an
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)
Where the first Marigold Hotel was about discovery and wonder and evolution and the value of challenging oneself, its successor centers more on courage – namely, the courage to seize
Aloha (2015)
I can only assume that the disjointed, scattered, confusing, illogical and, sadly, mostly unentertaining film from writer-director Cameron Crowe somehow fell victim to over-editing or excessive tinkering that ultimately sacrificed,
Despicable Me
Steve Carell voices Gru, an increasingly irrelevant evildoer who aspires to be the biggest and best badass on the planet by shrinking the moon with a ray gun, and then
88 Minutes (2007)
I'm starting to think 88 Minutes was designed as some sort of gauntlet for Al Pacino's talent. It seems like someone actually sat down and said, "Hey, let's give Al
Titanic (1997)
Psst. Come on. You can admit it... after all, it was ten years ago. No matter how much you trash-talk the movie today, I'll bet you saw it in the
The Reflecting Skin (1990)
The Reflecting Skin is one of the most peculiar, striking films I have ever seen, and a week after watching it, I still can't shake the story of little Seth
1408 (2007)
The plot of the horror film 1408 is quite simple: Paranormal writer John Cusack hears about haunted room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Hotel manager Samuel Jackson says, "It's an
Sunshine (2007)
Everyone knows that solar rays can be damaging, but the extent of the damage varies according to proximity, as the crew of Icarus II begins to realize during a deep-space
Misfits: Season One (2012)
We are used to outcasts gaining superpowers through freak accidents. Usually they gain powers that can be used for good... you know, fighting crime, holding bridges together, etc. But in
Contagion (2011)
I have to admit Matt Damon is growing on me. He is one of a passel of quality actors filling up the large cast in Contagion, and in my book
Attack the Block
Written and directed by Joe Cornish, and starring a cast made up of mostly unknowns, the spirited little film takes a standard-issue plot – namely, aliens invade Earth – and
Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
If I’m being honest, this movie is sort of like a half-assed alien-invasion thriller combined with a half-assed cowboy shoot-‘em-up, and neither side really delivers the “omigoshWOW!” needed to make
X-Men: First Class (2011)
Packed as much with action and special effects as it is rich in story and detail for fans and newbies alike, X-Men: First Class delivers a summer-movie experience more on
Ab-Normal Beauty (Sei mong se jun) (2004)
Jiney (Race Wong) is a pretty young student who disses boys to instead go out and take photos with her best friend Jas (Race's real-life sister Rosanne Wong). She is
The Prophecy (1995)
I'm not that big on horror movies, but I have to say, The Prophecy turned out a lot better than I expected. First, it reunites Elias Koteas and Eric Stoltz
Catwoman (2004)
I actually kind of liked Catwoman, except for the part where Halle Berry turns into a cat. I'm not just being facetious. The movie gets off to a decent start
Hellboy (2004)
It’s not campy or colorful, but gorgeously dark and gothic and shadowy, like a black-and-white technicolor movie. Ron Perlman, who last donned mucho prosthetic make-up as Vincent in the cult-hit
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
My favorite thing about Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is that I finally figured out that R. Wynn and A.O. Wynn are not related. During the first
Elf (2003)
Elf is cute. It’s a sweet little movie with some clever jokes, good performances and a nice message. I liked it. But, as my sister so wisely pointed out as
The Lie (2020)
The Lie, despite having the normally gore/horror label Blumhouse attached to it, is a mostly bloodless, slow burn drama. Divorced parents Jay and Rebecca (Peter Sarsgaard and Mireille Enos) are
Fatima (2020)
As a non-Catholic, I became familiar with the Miracle at Fatima in college. I was fascinated by this story of a visit by the Virgin Mary in "modern" times that
The Outsider: The Complete First Season (2020)
NOTE: Warner Bros. Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray TM I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own. Ostensibly, The Outsider
Radioactive (2020)
It is hard to believe that a modern major motion picture has never been made about the fascinating, celebrated Marie Skłodowska Curie. Her discoveries of radium and polonium and her
A Chorus Line (1985)
Now, I've never seen A Chorus Line in any incarnation. My only familiarity with it is the unavoidable finale song "One" ("... singular sensation! Every little step she takes!" Go
