Zootopia Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Zootopia is a perfect 2016 movie. Sure, it depicts a bunny cop and a fox solving a mystery — which is utterly timeless, obviously — but what it does here and how is speak with surprising grace about stereotyping that’s pervaded both the American presidential election and interactions cops and civilians. I […]
Trumbo Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Mistrust and fear overtook Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s when many major players in the movie industry were shunned, blacklisted, and even jailed over their beliefs. It’s not hard to see why such a time would be appealing to a filmmaker, and in fact, Jay Roach’s Trumbo is hardly the first […]
Frozen Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) What’s this? An animated musical with genuinely great music? It’s true. There’s a lot that’s great about Disney’s Frozen—its breathtaking animation, its plucky characters, its old-fashioned sensibility—but what I’m most heartened by is the notion that movies like this can feature some fantastic tunes. As much as Disney’s been on a roll […]
Wreck-It Ralph Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Though Disney owns Pixar, the two animation studios work autonomously, and the latter has simply dominated the former over the last decade or so. Wreck-It Ralph—Disney’s latest—represents a giant, candy-colored momentum swing back toward Mickey Mouse and company. Disney still isn’t winning the battle; Pixar’s track record is just too strong. But […]
Transformers: Dark of the Moon Review
RATING: (1.5 STARS) Oh, Michael Bay. You fooled me again. Here I am thinking Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the third film in a franchise I’ve despised to this point, might be some mindless fun. After all, reviews weren’t quite as savage this time around. But no, this film is basically a carbon copy of […]
