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 ?

When the best thing that can be said about yet another attempt to recharge James Cameron’s classic sci-fi/action ‘Terminator’ franchise is that it’s not THAT bad compared to past attempts, it’s probably best to retire it. ‘Dark Fate’ is the sixth film in a series that started in 1984 on a shoestring budget and succeeded… Continue reading ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ – Time to Officially Give Up on this Franchise?

The much maligned ‘Star Wars’ prequels have had so much negative ink through the years that it has become tiresome. No matter what many fans and critics may desire, these movies are still an indelible part of the history of the sci-fi fantasy saga. The anticipation for Episode I in the years and months leading… Continue reading ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’ – Better Than You Remember?

As crazy as it sounds, ‘Joker’ is exactly what it appears to be, to both its success and detriment. This is yet another standout, bugged-out performance by Joaquin Phoenix, but it’s also an exercise in IP manipulation so blatant it ultimately doesn’t work on multiple levels. It’s hard to say what was the intent of… Continue reading ‘Joker’ – What’s It All For, Really?

Writer/director James Gray (‘The Lost City of Z’) has been quietly making solid films in various genres since his breakout indie ‘Little Odessa’ in 1994. While none have had the Brad Pitt star power of his latest near future, space-set ‘Ad Astra’, it would be remiss not to point out that they also have had… Continue reading ‘Ad Astra’ – Spacepocalypse Now – A Father/Son Odyssey?

Two years ago, Andy Muschietti’s feature film version of Stephen King’s classic doorstop novel, ‘It’, blew past expectations to become the highest grossing horror film of all time. ‘It’ also became a solid representation of what has been a historically inconsistent genre – the Stephen King adaption (his works have been adapted over 80 times… Continue reading ‘It: Chapter Two’ – Simultaneously Too Much and Not Enough?