Category Archives: Movie Reviews

‘Cruising’ For A Bruising

Note: This focus will be on horror/thrillers that have featured the LGBTQIA community and/or have themes as June is Pride Month. By the time William Friedkin’s Cruising hit theaters in February of 1980, there already was a lot of controversy over the movie. Set mostly in gay men nightclubs and bars, it follows an undercoverContinue reading “‘Cruising’ For A Bruising”

‘Shazam’ Sequel Shows ‘Fury’ Of DCEU

Ten years ago today, June 14, 2013, Man of Steel opened in theaters and introduced us to the Snyderverse and the DC Extended Universe. Unfortunately, it’s been a bumpy decade of ups and mostly downs as DC and its parents company Warner Bros. tried to do a fast track similar to the MCU in justContinue reading “‘Shazam’ Sequel Shows ‘Fury’ Of DCEU”

Treat Williams Was An Actor’s Actor

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching Once Upon a Time in America in which Treat Williams has a minor role. By 1984, Williams had starring roles in Hair and Prince of the City. He had worked with Steven Spielberg, Milos Forman and Sidney Lumet in just three years. That’s a resume many actorsContinue reading “Treat Williams Was An Actor’s Actor”

‘Avatar’ Sequel Looks Great But Revisits The Same Territory As First One

There’s a joke in Hollywood that when he began working on Rio Lobo, Howard Hawks called up John Wayne for the lead. Without much discussion of the plot, Wayne agreed to it. When Hawks asked if Wayne wanted to see a script, he replied, he had made the movie twice already with Rio Bravo andContinue reading “‘Avatar’ Sequel Looks Great But Revisits The Same Territory As First One”

‘Reality’ Presents A Double Standard

Did the powers that be at Warner Bros. Discovery actually anticipate the 37-count indictment against Donald Trump or was it just one of those lightning in a bottle moments that works where life imitates art sometimes. Remember how the Three Mile Island incident happened shortly after The China Syndrome came out? Or how Wag theContinue reading “‘Reality’ Presents A Double Standard”

‘Jurassic Park’ Turns 30

When Jurassic Park hit theaters on this date, June 11, 1993, it came after much hype and buzz. The late Michael Crichton’s book has been a popular bestseller since the holiday season of 1990. And production had started in the summer of 1992 in Hawai’i but was interrupted by Hurricane Iniki in September of thatContinue reading “‘Jurassic Park’ Turns 30”

Riseborough Rises ‘To Leslie’ Above Feel-Good Indie Drama Poverty Porn

There’s a scene in To Leslie where the titular character played by Andrea Riseborough is being kicked out of her son’s apartment for drinking and stealing his roomate’s money. She pleads with him by repeatedly calling him “baby” but it’s fallen on deaf ears. It’s ironic because she’s acting like a child who’s been caughtContinue reading “Riseborough Rises ‘To Leslie’ Above Feel-Good Indie Drama Poverty Porn”

Chucky The Doll Proves Horror Can Be More Than Mere ‘Child’s Play’

Note: This focus will be on horror/thrillers that have featured the LGBTQIA community and/or have themes as June is Pride Month. By the time, Child’s Play hit theaters, for some reason after Halloween, in 1988, the horror genre had become a step up from porno. The slasher genre of the 1980s had soured the marketContinue reading “Chucky The Doll Proves Horror Can Be More Than Mere ‘Child’s Play’”

Michael J. Fox’s Serious Acting Shines In’Bright Lights, Big City’

George Carlin was once asked what it felt like when he did cocaine. His response was simple, “It makes you feel like having more cocaine.” In Bright Lights, Big City, Jamie Conway (Michael J. Fox) knows that feeling. He’s a 20-something wannabe writer from Pennsylvania who moved to New York City with his wife, AmandaContinue reading “Michael J. Fox’s Serious Acting Shines In’Bright Lights, Big City’”