This is the second feature film inspired by and featuring the same cast as the acclaimed television series, “Downton Abbey,” which I have never seen. But after an initial period of confusion I liked the first film, and I like […]
Continue reading »Month: May 2022
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) ☆ ☆ ☆
I’m including this review of the first theatrical Star Trek movie as a Recent Release because I just saw it again in a theater thanks to a Fathom Events presentation. I had to talk myself into it — I do own […]
Continue reading »Intrusion (2021) ☆ ☆
Another film that telegraphs its surprises is Intrusion, a rather slow-paced drama-turned-suspense film from last year. Very few things are as intense or frightening as a home invasion, as anyone who has ever experienced one can testify. The dramatic possibilities created […]
Continue reading »Kate (2021) ☆ ☆
One of the maddening aspects of modern moviemaking is the manner in which filmmakers — and probably more accurately, the investors and corporate brains funding those filmmakers — look to the past for ideas that they can adapt in different […]
Continue reading »Uncharted (2022) ☆ ☆ 1/2
I skipped seeing Uncharted for several weeks because I felt that its preview, with its mid-air fights and flying Magellanic ships, was too over-the-top for me. I finally caught up with Uncharted today, and my read of the preview was correct. The […]
Continue reading »Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) ☆
I hate the multiverse, so I had little hope for actually liking this Marvel superhero adventure. To be fair, it is painstakingly realized and even makes consistent sense most of the time. It is somewhat clever and amusing, with compassionate […]
Continue reading »The Suicide Squad (2021) ☆ ☆
I cannot understand why DC Comics released the all-star mess Suicide Squad in 2016 (which I gave one-and-a-half stars), and then, five years later, releases another movie with basically the same characters as — The Suicide Squad. Where is the originality? Certainly […]
Continue reading »Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) ☆ 1/2
I have been upfront about my indifference concerning cinematic fantasy and magical adventure, so it should not be surprising that I haven’t enjoyed these Fantastic Beasts films at all. To be fair and honest, I felt the same way about the […]
Continue reading »The Lost City (2022) ☆ ☆
Romantic adventure comedies are always a good bet, or so the studios must think, because things like The Lost City are occasionally foisted upon the moviegoing public, and sometimes they do very well. Certainly the cast is appealing, and the script, […]
Continue reading »The Survivalist (2021) ☆ 1/2
We’re still feeling the effects of the COVID pandemic and there have already been movies made about it, including at least a couple that explore how much worse it could have been. One of these is The Survivalist, a low, low-budget […]
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