An ending can often make or break a film; a strong case can be made this film’s ending breaks it. “Split” is the latest film from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan and follows a man with a multiple personality disorder (James McAvoy) who kidnaps three teenage girls (Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula). A… Continue reading ‘Split’ Features Great Performances, Not So Strong Execution
This, “Lone Survivor,” “Deepwater Horizon”… guess Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg are just going to spend the rest of their careers making films about recent tragedies. “Patriots Day” is about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and its subsequent manhunt. Mark Wahlberg, J. K. Simmons, John Goodman, Kevin Bacon and Michelle Monaghan all star as Peter… Continue reading ‘Patriots Day’ a Solid, Respectful Thriller with a Few Stumbles
This is honestly going to be one of the most difficult reviews I’ve ever written… “Silence” is the latest film from Martin Scorsese, a passion project of the director’s for over 25 years. The film follows two 17th-century Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) who travel from Portugal to Japan in order to locate… Continue reading ‘Silence’ Easier to Admire than Enjoy
This is one of those instances where you sit watching a movie and the entire time you think, “how the hell did this thing get made?” “Monster Trucks” is a “family comedy” (both terms used lightly) starring Lucas Till as a high schooler who finds out a monster from a drilling accident has taken shelter… Continue reading ‘Monster Trucks’ Inexplicably Well-Cast, Expectedly Blandly Written
2016 is over, but its films are still letting us down. “Live by Night” is the fourth directorial effort from Ben Affleck, based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, and follows a prohibition Boston bootlegger who moves to Florida to corner the rum market. Affleck stars alongside Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson,… Continue reading ‘Live by Night’ a Beautiful-Looking Letdown
If nothing else, I got a slight chuckle here from the mini “Moonlight” reunion between Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monáe. “Hidden Figures” is the true story of the group of African-American females who helped NASA with the mathematics leading up John Glenn’s 1962 orbit of Earth. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner,… Continue reading ‘Hidden Figures’ a Safe, By-the-Numbers Biopic
2016 was the biggest year in the history of the box office, grossing a total of $11.37 billion (and counting, with “Rogue One” likely to cross the $1B mark in the next week of so). 2017 will likely beat that number, with films like “Fast and Furious 8” (sorry, “The Fate of the Furious”) and… Continue reading 2017 Box Office Predictions
2016 was arguably one of the weakest in the history of mainstream cinema, full of disappointing sequels, under-delivering blockbusters and a depressing lack of many truly great films, it was a letdown on all fronts. But some films managed to undercut the already low bar and be truly awful, even by this year’s standards. Here… Continue reading Top 10 Worst Films of 2016
For the second year in a row, the best film of the year comes out at Christmas. “La La Land” stars Ryan Gosling as a jazz pianist who falls in love with an aspiring actress (Emma Stone) in Los Angeles. John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt and J.K. Simmons also star as Damien Chazelle writes and directs.… Continue reading ‘La La Land’ a Gorgeous Film Celebrating Dreams
This film is the Anakin Skywalker of video game movies. It was supposed to be the Chosen One, the film that would finally make video game movies good and bring balance to the cinematic universe, but instead it turns out to be a bland origin story that betrays the very people that put their hope… Continue reading ‘Assassin’s Creed’ the Worst Video Game Movie of 2016, and 2016 had ‘Warcraft’
The Reel Deal 