Enemy of the State Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Going into this Tony Scott marathon I’ve been on, I had a strong appreciation for both the front end and the back end of the filmography and a lot of question marks in the middle. It was fun, then, to see the transition he made between his two best films, True Romance […]
The Fan Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) A few films back in my Tony Scott marathon, I wrote about the opening scene of The Last Boy Scout, which saw a star football player get told that he must score a touchdown and win the game or else. As the opposing defenders swarm on him, he pulls out a gun […]
Bohemian Rhapsody Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Few bands in rock history are larger than life in the same way as Queen. Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon incorporated elements of electronica, heavy metal, British pop, and opera into their catalog of songs, which is still play in stadiums, arenas, and karaoke bars and all over […]
Ready Player One Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Steven Spielberg became one of the most beloved filmmakers in the history of the medium on the backs of blockbusters like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., and Jurassic Park that transported viewers into fantastical worlds where anything seemed possible. Ready Player One is perhaps his […]
Bad Moms Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) A recent trend in comedy writing and filmmaking is to turn the mundane into something debaucherous. It probably started with The Hangover, which took a typically debaucherous activity — the bachelor party — and elevated it to a level previously unthinkable. Slowly, this type of story took over movies about “regular life.†[…]
Star Trek Beyond Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) The term “episodic†gets thrown around a lot when it comes to major studio moviemaking. Between bifurcation of individual stories and the intense desire to turn everything into a “saga†or “cinematic universe,†the big-budget action film that mostly stands on its own is becoming an endangered species. Star Trek Beyond, then, […]
The Nice Guys Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) After a delightful foray into the world of Marvel, writer-director Shane Black has returned to the world of buddy cop movies with The Nice Guys. Well, Holland French (Ryan Gosling) and Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) aren’t cops — one’s a private eye, the other basically a tough guy for hire. They aren’t […]
Captain America: Civil War Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) During the much-hyped battle between the Avengers and Friends in Captain America: Civil War, one combatant, with tongue firmly in cheek, remarks, “Everyone’s got a gimmick.” Indeed, every one does, and Civil War is “The One with Black Panther and the New Spider-Man”. Marvel movies are hardly identifiable anymore — assuming they […]
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) A final film in a series shouldn’t need this much exposition. A final film in a series shouldn’t be so light on concluding excitement. A final film in a series shouldn’t have to force feed its viewers hackeneyed closure for its characters. A final film in a series shouldn’t be so lacking […]
While We’re Young Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) While We’re Young is the type of film in which Vanity Fair publishes a full page interview with the question, “Are you a hipster?†It’s the type of film in which an echo effect is added to the final line in a climactic fight. It’s the type of film in which a […]
Sleeping with Other People Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Sleeping with Other People is Leslye Headland’s sophomore feature, and following the mixed reception of Bachelorette, a Bridesmaids-esque comedy darker than the deepest recesses of space, she seems to have taken some notes and steered toward something approaching approachability. If consulted, I would have told Headlund to stay “out there.†Not only […]
Black Mass Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Black Mass feels perfunctory and uninspired. It appears to exist because the story of James “Whitey” Bulger is one that should be chronicled in a narrative film and unfortunately not because those involved have something unique to say about it. As such, it takes a paint-by-numbers approach to 20 years of Bulger’s […]
Entourage Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) There’s a moment deep into the Entourage movie when the guys are chastising their boy Vinny Chase (Adrian Grenier) for sleeping with Emily Ratajkowski (playing herself) moments after the financier of Vince’s directorial debut leaves her house. Vince begs his closest friends for some understanding, asking them to remember who they are. […]
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) If there’s ever been a movie title more truthful than The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, I don’t know what it is. This movie is the definition of fine. It goes down really easily because it doesn’t try to do too much. Because it can dispose of things like character introductions and […]
Jupiter Ascending Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) After The Matrix, the Wachowski siblings received carte blanche from Warner Bros. Clearly enamored by the world they created, they returned to finish Neo’s story with two Matrix sequels, but following the creative and financial disappointment that was Revolutions, it was time for Lana and Andy to step away from this world […]
Edge of Tomorrow Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) With the exception, maybe, of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, no film has ever so closely replicated what it’s like to actually play a video game than Doug Liman’s All You Need Is Kill Live/Die/Repeat Edge of Tomorrow. And with the exception of Scott Pilgrim, no film that’s either explicity based on […]
