William Friedkin’s final film is a stark retelling of the famous Herman Wouk story and play. Rather than opening it up, to make it more cinematic (perhaps in the fashion of the similarly-themed drama A Few Good Men), the director […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
The Boys in the Boat (2023) ☆ ☆ ☆
Every few years a sports movie comes along to uplift audiences with a great story and a powerful message, which is almost always this — work together as a team and good things will happen. It worked for Hoosiers; it worked […]
Continue reading »Lift (2024) ☆ ☆ 1/2
For a while superhero movies were all the rage. Now I think it is a toss-up between creepy horror stories and shiny, slick caper movies like Lift. It seems everyone is making them these days, all attempting to find the coolest […]
Continue reading »The Equalizer 3 (2023) ☆ ☆ 1/2
I have liked each of the first two “Equalizer” movies, although I’ve never seen either the original television series or the new one. These first two movies have established ex-CIA guy Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) as a fastidious man with […]
Continue reading »The Beekeeper (2024) ☆ ☆
We’ve all seen action movies where the action is so unbelievable that any suspension of disbelief is impossible. I had thought action star Jason Statham had moved past this kind of sloppiness. Not so. The Beekeeper is action as its […]
Continue reading »Poor Things (2023) ☆ ☆
Some critics argue that the greatest art is defined by its ambiguity; that a film in which viewers can interpret things in myriad ways is more valuable and important precisely because of its many facets. Perhaps that is true, but […]
Continue reading »On Sacred Ground (2023) ☆ 1/2
When it comes to certain subjects a film can easily turn into a diatribe, a full-fledged political statement. Sometimes that’s fine; exposés like All the President’s Men and Spotlight are better for the agitation they cause in viewers. Yet sometimes hit-job storytelling […]
Continue reading »Wonka (2023) ☆ ☆ ☆
This is the third movie version of Roald Dahl’s book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” all three having musical elements and, happily, all three being rather different than one another. I really enjoy the 1971 Mel Stuart musical; it improves […]
Continue reading »Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) ☆ ☆
Yet another DC misadventure floats into and out of movie history with more of a ripple than a splash. The second, and almost certainly final, Aquaman adventure follows a similar path as the first one five years ago. Only, when […]
Continue reading »It Ain’t Over (2022) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
Anybody who, like myself, loves America’s Pastime and rejoices in its history needs to see this documentary about the great, underrated Yogi Berra. The Yankees catcher was the heart and soul of a team that dominated the American League from […]
Continue reading »