Usually January is a long dull month. But lately, it’s become of the most eventful months of the year. In 2021, the Jan. 6 insurrection coup attempt happened. Then for the next two weeks leading up to the inauguration of President Joe Biden, there was military service members sleeping in hallways and garages in theContinue reading “‘Dumb Money’ Is A Dumb Movie”
Tag Archives: reviews
‘Pain Hustlers’ In A Fix For A Good Story
Emily Blunt is one of those actresses whose name, appearance and body of work seems like she should be doing Downton Abbey, The Crown or some other period piece movie or TV show. At one time, she was the contender to play Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But she has proved that sheContinue reading “‘Pain Hustlers’ In A Fix For A Good Story”
‘Straw Dogs’ Has A Better Bite Over Its Original’s Meager Bark
Filmmaker Jean-Luc Goddard once said, “The way to criticize a film is to make another film.” In 1971, when Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs was released during the Christmas holiday season, it shocked audiences and divided them. Based on the novel The Siege at Trencher’s Farm, it starred Dustin Hoffman as a meager intelligent mathematician whoContinue reading “‘Straw Dogs’ Has A Better Bite Over Its Original’s Meager Bark”
‘Ted’ Works Best As Sitcom Parody But Still Feels A Bit Overstuffed
There was a joke on a Family Guy episode in which they did some Seth MacFarlane self-parody with the line is “Yeah, he watched TV in the 80s. We get it.” When Family Guy burst on the scene in 1999 after the Super Bowl, it reflected a growing change in movies and TV that decadeContinue reading “‘Ted’ Works Best As Sitcom Parody But Still Feels A Bit Overstuffed”
‘The Wraith’ Scares Up A Good Time
A movie like The Wraith seems to be a casserole of genres. It’s about a murdered person who returns from the grave to exact revenge in a slasher style where each killer is murdered one by one mostly. But it’s also a western, set in the Arizona desert, where the main protagonist like Clint Eastwood’sContinue reading “‘The Wraith’ Scares Up A Good Time”
‘Reptile’ Slithers At Snail’s Pace
Reptile is one of those slow-burn gritty movies that sometimes works if all the pieces come together correctly. And a lot of times they don’t. It begins with a gruesome murder as a cop dealing with his own demons is brought in to investigate. They think they get the right person in the second act,Continue reading “‘Reptile’ Slithers At Snail’s Pace”
‘The Creator’ Doles Out Same Old Story
There’s been a lot of talk of artificial intelligence in the last few years with deep fakes and even pictures that look like they’re the real deal. There are numerous pictures online of supposed people who have never existed but they look like they’re flesh and bone. A movie like The Creator is one ofContinue reading “‘The Creator’ Doles Out Same Old Story”
‘Eye See You’ Coded But Has Some Life
Like most people, I spent my youth hanging out in the aisles of video rental places like Hollywood and Blockbuster. One day, I came across a shelf that had VHS and DVD copies of Eye See You starring Sylvester Stallone and wondered “How did I miss this?” I still read Entertainment Weekly, before the writersContinue reading “‘Eye See You’ Coded But Has Some Life”
‘Fargo’ Is The Show To Watch
I never really caught on with the TV anthology show Fargo initially. I missed the first two seasons but started to watch the third when I recognized the cast of Ewan McGregor (in dual roles), Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Carrie Coon. It was a pretty good season but I really didn’t have any interest inContinue reading “‘Fargo’ Is The Show To Watch”
‘The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty’ Is A Wonderful Storytelling Achievement
Every now and again, a movie is released that isn’t favored by many critics and doesn’t do well at the box office but finds its audience, respect and admiration later. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty opened on Christmas Day in 2013 to polarizing reviews. Produced on a huge budget of $90 million, it madeContinue reading “‘The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty’ Is A Wonderful Storytelling Achievement”
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