I cannot recall a more depressing movie that I have ever seen than Civil War. What a downer. It should have been titled The Fall of America or something as equally pessimistic about the future, because that’s what it is. Pure pessimism. […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
Barbarian (2022) ☆ ☆ 1/2
Horror films are supposed to horrify. Many fail to do so. Barbarian begins with a solid premise, one which might lead in any one of several directions, and eventually leads us underground to a genuinely harrowing scenario. While it eventually […]
Continue reading »Violent Night (2022) ☆ ☆ 1/2
Some movies can win you over with sheer chutzpah. The brutal Christmas adventure Violent Night is, for me, one of those movies. I didn’t expect to like it at all, but I found it to be amusing and occasionally funny, with […]
Continue reading »Brian and Charles (2022) ☆ ☆ 1/2
As I simply have not seen many movies (at all) in theaters over the last few months, I am making the choice to use “Recent Releases” to catch up on some of the more notable films I have not seen […]
Continue reading »Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023) ☆ ☆
Espionage films can be dramatic and suspenseful, or comic and silly. Both approaches work; many classics have resulted. And of course they can be combined, with various levels of success. A few of the James Bond adventures approach the level […]
Continue reading »Deadpool and Wolverine (2024) ☆
A couple of years ago Martin Scorsese publicly complained about the negative effects of Marvel superhero movies on the prospects of moviemaking and the future of cinema. I didn’t agree with his comments about the Marvel movies then (the MCU […]
Continue reading »Twisters (2024) ☆ ☆ 1/2
Rather than a traditional sequel, Twisters is more of a remake or reboot, since it does not feature any of the original characters from Twister (1996). However, there are all sorts of references, in-jokes and thematic nods to the first tornado adventure. […]
Continue reading »IF (2024) ☆ ☆
Some films bank on personal experiences or memories to connect to viewers. I think IF attempts to remind viewers of childhood experiences to connect to its fantastical story, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that this approach works for some. […]
Continue reading »The Expendables 4 (2023) ☆ ☆
Some movies exist just for the bullets, the bombs and the exploding bodies; this is one of them. The Expendables series began as an all-star ode to mayhem, with every action star imaginable recruited to populate stories where dozens, if […]
Continue reading »The Passenger (2023) ☆ ☆ 1/2
One of the worst things one can imagine happening at work is a shooting, perpetrated by a co-worker. This drama explores such a situation, leading to an explosion of violence rather early in the story, than following the aftermath to […]
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