Three years ago A Quiet Place debuted to glowing reviews and acclaim. There were some naysayers, however, and I was among them. As much as I appreciate the premise and the acting talent I found the script to be wanting and […]
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Onward (2020) ☆ ☆ 1/2
Pixar’s movies can be magical. This one literally has magic in it — it is infused with magic — but I didn’t find it magical. Actually I was rather bored much of the time, until the climax, where the story […]
Continue reading »Disturbing the Peace (2020) ☆ ☆
Some movies, like this one, begin really well before sputtering to a weak conclusion. The crime drama Disturbing the Peace is a prime example, although it’s fall into mediocrity comes quickly and with alacrity. Once it turns bad, it becomes pretty […]
Continue reading »Blackbird (2019) ☆ ☆ 1/2
Actors love this type of material, which allows them to interact within an ensemble without fantastical storylines or cutting edge special effects to upstage them. Blackbird is a uniquely human story, with its characters trying to come to grips with […]
Continue reading »Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) ☆ 1/2
Last weekend I saw 1967’s kiddie-oriented monster movie King Kong Escapes (on Svengoolie’s show) for the first time since I was a kid. It’s a stupid, nonsensical, goofy Japanese-American monster movie with King Kong and his mechanical doppelgänger, and I quite […]
Continue reading »The Last Shift (2020) ☆ ☆
Character studies are not my favorite type of film, probably because so often the central character which the filmmakers wish to spotlight is deeply flawed in some manner. That isn’t very entertaining to watch, at least to me. I’m not […]
Continue reading »The Devil Has a Name (2020) ☆ ☆
Once in a while a film will tackle the subject of corporate poisoning of public land, and the people who live on it. The best of them, like Erin Brockovich (2000) and Dark Waters (2019), are palpably sincere efforts to tell heart-wrenching […]
Continue reading »Spontaneous (2020) ☆ ☆ ☆
Among the odder films I’ve seen recently is this comedic dramatic teen horror opus which explores the bizarre phenomenon known as “spontaneous combustion.” Turns out that spontaneous combustion is an ingenious framework for a horror film because that unexplained and […]
Continue reading »Grizzly II: Revenge (1983) ☆
If you were asked which movie featuring three current and future Oscar winners is among the worst ever made, Grizzly II: Revenge would be a great response. Why is a 1983 movie here among Recent Releases? The project was abandoned post-production […]
Continue reading »2020 Oscars “In Memoriam” Segment
I will, in the near future, discuss my reaction to the 2021 Oscar telecast (for the 2020 awards), which was a decidedly hit-and-miss affair, to my eyes, and which, in microcosm, is reflected through one of its segments, the “In […]
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