Horror has been carving out a nice place for itself in the dead of winter the past few years. 2020’s entry, ‘The Invisible Man’, takes the February baton from ‘The Witch’ and ‘Get Out’ as another example of well-crafted fare with more than just effective scares on its mind. Leigh Whannell, who has moved from… Continue reading ‘The Invisible Man’ – Putting the Victim Center Stage?

Margot Robbie’s depiction of the extremely popular DC comic book character Harley Quinn has been the shining star in not one, but now TWO sloppy messes meant to be major blockbusters for Warner Bros. One thing can be said for ‘Birds of Prey’, the movie unapologetically goes for it. Unfortunately for fans and audiences, little… Continue reading ‘Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn’ – Will WB/DC Ever Figure Out What to do with Margot Robbie’s Standout Role?

Guy Ritchie used to make a certain kind of movie. Irreverent, violent, cartoonish ensembles set in the English underworld, his films ‘Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels’ and ‘Snatch’ launched careers (Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones) and brought the seedier (and often unintelligible) side of London to a mainstream pop audience. Scuzz, but entertaining scuzz, Ritchie… Continue reading ‘The Gentlemen’ – Guy Ritchie Doing What He Does?

Recent history has given us two incredibly crafted wartime movies by British filmmakers. Christopher Nolan’s tense thrill ride from two years ago played with time and cross editing to place the audience into the WWII action of the beaches of France. Fellow countryman Sam Mendes goes further back in time and gets a similar result… Continue reading ‘1917’ – A Simple War Story, A Complex Presentation?

Love him or hate him, there is no denying Adam Sandler is a unique comedic talent and unbridled force of nature. When filmmakers, like The Safdie Brothers have done with ‘Uncut Gems’, effectively tap into that raw nerve of manic energy, the end result is nothing short of a cinematic miracle. Josh and Benny Safdie,… Continue reading ‘Uncut Gems’ – An Unrelenting Two-Hour Heart Attack Through the Diamond District?

This is it. The end of the Star Wars saga films. Nine episodes. Forty-two years. Three sets of trilogies. Five directors. One Emperor. That’s right, the trailer featured his voice, the poster featured his face – here he is, right in the opening crawl, and immediately this chain of films becomes clear, that ‘from a… Continue reading ‘Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker’ – Is This Really The End?

The saying, ‘they don’t make em like they used to,’ gets bandied about a lot these days in reference to going to the movies. The reality is that for all the hand-wringing over the lack of adult fare, too many superheroes, etc., there are still plenty of options for moviegoers not content to wait for… Continue reading ‘Ford v Ferrari’ – An Old-School Crowdpleaser?

As evidenced by his sprawling mobster/Teamster epic, ‘The Irishman’, Martin Scorcese still has interesting stories to tell. In this case, it’s the long, sordid tale of Frank Sheeran, the titular unmade man who rose through the ranks of both the mafia and the trucking union as a stoic middleman and unabashed, unapologetic, workman thug. Throughout… Continue reading ‘The Irishman’ – Scorcese and Co. at Their Most Contemplative?

‘Parasite’, Bong Joon Ho’s newest cinematic exercise in class warfare is best left seeing completely blind. Experiencing the film is to watch a master of the form meticulously construct an ever evolving narrative through character, setting, and, while taking place in Seoul, South Korea, the universal theme of income disparity. It won the Palme D’Or,… Continue reading ‘Parasite’ – A Masterful Farce of Haves v Have-Nots ?