It pains to say, but the follow up to 2017’s spectacular ‘Wonder Woman’ is an abject colossal failure. It’s truly hard to understand what went wrong, but very little works in the sequel, subtitled ‘1984’. At first the promise of a basically immortal protagonist having clandestine adventures in various eras seemed promising. Director Patty Jenkins… Continue reading ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ – An Indecipherable Absolute and Total Failure?

David Fincher may have found a permanent home at Netflix, which has to this point indulged his whims on projects that many studios may have passed on. None more so than his latest feature film, ‘Mank’, a beautifully crafted exploration of old Hollywood that not only attempts to recreate the experience of watching a film… Continue reading ‘Mank’ – A Brilliant Film that’s Impenetrable Without Context?

Powerhouse director Christopher Nolan (‘Dark Knight Trilogy’, ‘Inception’, ‘Dunkirk’) is on record saying that he’s always wanted to make a James Bond film. Perhaps the only thing blocking this from happening is the appearance that he is beheld to Warner Bros. for financing his unique visions after delivering them the massive success of each film… Continue reading ‘Tenet’ – Christopher Nolan’s Time-Bending Bond Bid?

STOP! DO NOT READ WITHOUT SEEING FIRST – THIS MOVIE IS BEST VIEWED WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING THE PREMISE Sometimes it’s best to just allow a film to wash over you and let it take you down its path. In the case of the Andy Samberg / Cristin Milioti starring ‘Palm Springs’, streaming directly onto Hulu,… Continue reading ‘Palm Springs’ – A Mas-Quar-Piece For These Times?

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?