Between Messi from “Anatomy of a Fall” and Arthur here, maybe the Academy should introduce a Best Animal Actor award… “Arthur the King” is based on the true story of a stray dog that follows a team of endurance racers (Mark Wahlberg, Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Ali Suliman) along their 435 mile competition in… Continue reading ‘Arthur the King’ Review: A Feel-Good Story Worthy of a Silver Medal
The accounting departments of rival studios must be crazy good at their jobs, it’s the only excuse for recent blockbusters looking as cheap as they do with massive budgets while the “Dune” series looks far better with less costs. “Dune: Part Two” is the follow-up to the 2021 film, both based on Frank Herbert’s novel… Continue reading ‘Dune: Part Two’ Review: An Improvement Upon the First on Every Level
“Lisa Frankenstein” is a quirky modern take on Mary Shelley’s tale, featuring Kathryn Newton as a teen who accidentally resurrects a corpse (Cole Sprouse). Directed by Zelda Williams and scripted by Diablo Cody, the film mixes gothic, punk, and comedy elements. Despite tonal inconsistencies, it’s an entertaining, nostalgic experience likely to become a cult favorite.
We need to regulate who is allowed to be labeled “a twisted mind” because a half-dozen films into his career I can promise you, Matthew Vaughn is not one of those people. “Argylle” follows a spy novelist (Bryce Dallas Howard) who is suddenly thrust into a real-life game of cat-and-mouse when her books turn out… Continue reading ‘Argylle’ Review: An Occasionally Fun, Often Messy Spy Romp
A bad PG-13 horror film released in the first week of January? Things are finally getting back to normal at the theaters! “Night Swim” stars Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon as a married couple who move into a new home with their children, only to suspect their pool may play host to a supernatural evil.… Continue reading ‘Night Swim’ Review: Too Shallow (and Too PG-13) to Make a Splash
It’s taken a while, but I think after several years we have finally gotten the world of movies back (or close) to pre-COVID levels of quality and general feel. And 2023 had some great films, as well as noteworthy cinematic events and milestones. I saw nearly 140 new releases this year so to rank them… Continue reading Top 10 Best Films of 2023
Yes, big-budget adult cinema may be back in the form of “Oppenheimer,” “Napoleon,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon,” but let us not discredit the return of the studio romantic comedy! “Anyone but You” stars Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney as two people who hate each other but pretend to be a couple at a… Continue reading ‘Anyone but You’ Review: There Have Better (But Also Certainly Worse) Rom-Coms Out There
Jeffrey Wright really is one of our more consistent working actors, it’s high-time we get him the Oscar nomination he deserves. “American Fiction” is based on the 2001 novel “Erasure,” and tells the story of an academic (Jeffrey Wright) who, frustrated with what passes for successful topical literature, writes an ironic and stereotypical novel about… Continue reading ‘American Fiction’ Review: A Funny and Warm Satire
This film is exactly, to a tee, what you would expect a Napoleon Bonaparte biopic directed by Ridley Scott to be like. “Napoleon” tells the story of the famed French general (played by Joaquin Phoenix), his relationship with Joséphine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby), and his fall from power; Ridley Scott directs. As a director, I’m… Continue reading ‘Napoleon’ Review: Epic Battles and Detailed Production (almost) Enough to Carry This Biopic to Victory
The “Hunger Games” was one of the most “sure, that was solid I guess” franchises of the 2010s, so it makes sense that a prequel installment would follow suit. “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” is the fifth installment of the young adult franchise based on the books of the same name,… Continue reading ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ Review: A Sometimes Compelling, At Other Points Laborious Prequel
The Reel Deal 