When Kenneth Branagh began his quest to bring Belgian detective Hercule Poirot back to the big screen, I was happy but discouraged. Happy because Poirot is an amazing, complex, fussy character who deserves more big screen attention than he has […]
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Jurassic Park (1993) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
It was thirty years ago when the definitive dinosaur movie appeared, and it has lost none of its potency during that time. This is a film I’ve seen multiple times and yet I still marvel at its incredible effects and […]
Continue reading »Blue Beetle (2023) ☆ ☆
Are all superhero movies made for the same audience? I’ve often thought so, and know for certain that I am not in that target audience. But this one seems made for a different audience, what with its specific story slant. […]
Continue reading »Retribution (2023) ☆ ☆
I have generally enjoyed Liam Neeson’s action film career since Taken. He’s a rugged actor who can make even pedestrian scripts seem more important and involving than they really are. Even his goofiest action films have elements of suspense, fun, irony […]
Continue reading »Meg 2: The Trench (2023) ☆ ☆
Over the past five years I have seen The Meg a few times, and my rating for it has risen from two stars to a solid two-and-a-half. It still isn’t a good film, but it is more enjoyable and exciting than […]
Continue reading »The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023) ☆ ☆ ☆
Because hundreds of vampire movies have been made (thousands? perhaps) genuine originality — or even a fresh approach — is difficult to find. Yet sometimes creativity can be sparked by a return to an original source and finding inspiration there. […]
Continue reading »Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part One (2023) ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
I have to admit that I don’t love the first two of Tom Cruise’s now-seven-film franchise; the first one unnecessarily betrayed Mr. Phelps and the second one I recall as just godawful. But since then they’ve figured it out. While […]
Continue reading »Oppenheimer (2023) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
Writer-director Christopher Nolan is revered in Hollywood, which I find curious because I don’t love his movies. But others do, from his “Dark Knight” trilogy to Dunkirk, Tenet and Interstellar, all of which I thought were overrated. On the other hand […]
Continue reading »Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) ☆ ☆ 1/2
I’m also not a big fan of fantasy, especially when it involves magic, dragons, witchcraft, sword fighting, mystical creatures and lute playing. All of those elements are present here, and, because of the beguiling efforts of the cast, it almost […]
Continue reading »Elemental (2023) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
I haven’t been the biggest fan for Pixar’s films for more than a decade now, and I wasn’t looking forward to this one based upon its previews. I thought it looked far too much like Inside Out, with its separation of […]
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