AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM is a tired pastiche of the super-hero/sci-fi genre most notable for being a perfect distillation of the phenomenon known as “super-hero fatigue”. Smothered by its been-there, seen-that vibe, it presents little to recommend it beyond Randall Park as both the embodiment of egregious exposition and the voice of reason. He… Read More »
MOONFALL
MOONFALL is everything that a Roland Emmerich film should be. There are dazzling special effects. There are several plot threads happening simultaneously that occasionally show a puckish confluence. There are parent-child issues. And there is a huuuuuuuuuge story. This time, it’s the curious case of the moon shifting its orbit in a way that defies… Read More »
AQUAMAN
The good news is that Momoa and his mammoth charm more than carry a film that is decidedly not the most original of super-hero tales.
THE COMMUTER
It’s all about what you want from a Liam Neeson action flick. That and managing expectations. Will it be great art? Probably not. Will it be fun? Maybe. In this case, it is. In THE COMMUTER, Neeson is an ordinary ex-cop turned insurance salesman named Mike, living paycheck to paycheck with his beloved wife (Elizabeth… Read More »
LAKEVIEW TERRACE
Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson) has very definite ideas about how things should be. His children, an adolescent daughter and a son a bit younger, must use proper grammar at all times, and there are rules about who and who can’t be a role model. His new neighbors, she’s black, he’s white, do not fit… Read More »
INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2
The fine people who bring us INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 are very serious about spoilers. While we in the reviewing press are almost always given an embargo date before which we are not supposed to post a formal review and/or any sort of critique in social media, before being allowed to attend the only press screening… Read More »
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Joel Schumacher and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA was a match made in cinematic heaven. The key to successfully producing a screen version of THE PHANTOM is creating a visual feast that is on par with the extravagance of the score. Its a sweeping, soaring thing with crescendos that spill over the audience like so… Read More »
THE SWITCH
THE SWITCH, based on the short story Baster by Jeffrey Eugenides, is a quiet comedy that is also an introspective mood piece about Wally (Jason Bateman) an inadvertently funny, introspective and somewhat moody man. Speaking to a particular pocket of time, the first decade of the 21st century, and a particular place, New York City,… Read More »
INSIDIOUS
The most resonant horror films, the ones that stand the test of time, are the ones that speak most directly to some aspect of reality that is magnetically identifiable to the viewer. Such is the case with INSIDIOUS, a smartly conceived film by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the founders of the SAW franchise. While… Read More »
YOUNG ADULT
The key to YOUNG ADULT’s protagonist, Mavis Gray, is her response to a particular question. Appearing bedraggled and wine-stained on the doorstep of her human doormat, Matt Freehauf, she is asked by him what happened. The audience knows she has been devastated by having her illusions taken from her. Her answer, though, eschews that. Instead,… Read More »