Social satire is tough to create and maintain. Witness this attempt to satirize the meaning of fame and success in modern America, where anyone can be famous for pretty much anything, and the desire for such fame — and perceived […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
Unearth (2020) ☆ 1/2
I’ll say for this in defense of Unearth: it’s different. It’s a horror film that isn’t horrifying until the final ten minutes or so, and then the tonal shift of the material is so drastic that it seems to be from […]
Continue reading »Mulan (2020) ☆ ☆ ☆
In general I find the Disney studio’s recent trend to create live-action versions of their animated classics to be redundant and tiresome. It’s probably a brilliant business decision, but it seems to me that later versions cannot help but cheapen […]
Continue reading »Black Widow (2021) ☆ ☆ ☆
Superhero movies are not my favorites, but I can appreciate a good one. Black Widow is a good one, I think, because it functions on multiple levels. First, it is an origin story for the massively popular Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett […]
Continue reading »Ava (2020) ☆ 1/2
Several movies in recent years have turned the tables on hitman / assassin archetypes and cast lethal ladies (Charlize Theron, Hailee Steinfeld, Gina Carano, the Kill Bill femmes, etc., etc.). Latest in this trend is Jessica Chastain, playing an American assassin […]
Continue reading »The Midnight Sky (2020) ☆ ☆
End of civilization movies have been a potent genre of cinema since the 1980s, with at least a couple appearing every year. Recently I’ve seen several, the most high profile of them being The Midnight Sky, directed by and starring George […]
Continue reading »Misbehaviour (2020) ☆ ☆ 1/2
I really enjoy film projects that recreate lesser-known moments of history and bring them to life on screen. This particular drama, the British film Misbehaviour, recounts feminist protests made surrounding the 1970 Miss World pageant in London, hosted by Bob Hope. […]
Continue reading »The Ice Road (2021) ☆ ☆
Liam Neeson is at it again in the Great White North. Following Cold Pursuit and The Grey, Neeson is living proof that action-oriented fare can be promulgated in the frozen tundras of Alaska and, in this case, Canada. The unusual setting certainly […]
Continue reading »A Quiet Place Part II (2020) ☆ ☆ ☆
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 […]
Continue reading »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 […]
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