The hugely successful Marvel Cinematic Universe has continued to inch further and further into comedic territory in recent years; with “Thor: Ragnarok,” it completely passes through the comic threshold. With its laughs-first approach, from start to finish “Thor: Ragnarok” is Marvel Studios’ funniest film. The comedic instincts of director Taika Waititi (“What We Do in […]
Archives
Philadelphia Review
Because Thanksgiving is approaching, I thought I’d do a month of reviews from my archive of films starring Tom Hanks (or, T. Hanks). This is perhaps my oldest written review of a Hanks film.
Alien: Covenant Review
Like a madman creator trying to play God, Ridley Scott and the team behind the “Alien” prequels “Prometheus” and now “Alien: Covenant” keep running the same experiment with slight variations, never quite able to replicate the excitement of that initial moment of creation (1979’s “Alien”). There’s nothing wrong or bad about either these precursor films, […]
Blade Runner 2049 Review
“Blade Runner 2049” is not a conventional sequel. The 1982 original failed to reach commercial success despite being a sci-fi film released during the years of the original “Star Wars” trilogy and starring Harrison Ford (and coming from acclaimed “Alien” director Ridley Scott). So there was not a lot of financial incentive to revisit this […]
Power Rangers Review
First they came for the TV shows of kids who grew up in the ’80s. It was only a matter of time before they came for my shows. As for how this big-screen adaptation fairs, color me indifferent.
Beauty and the Beast Review
One of Disney’s most treasured animated musicals of the ’90s and perhaps its most critically acclaimed, “Beauty and the Beast” was understandably high in the queue for in the studio’s recent spree of live-action remakes. Led by the popular and talented Emma Watson as Belle and under the veteran guidance of director Bill Condon (“Dreamgirls,” […]
Fall Movie Preview 2017
The fall usually has something for everyone, and heralds the first wave of the films everyone will be talking about come December and January. There are blockbuster options (“Thor” and “Blade Runner” sequels), plenty of horror (“It” opens tomorrow), thrillers (“The Snowman,” “mother!”) and prestige films (“Mark Felt,” “LBJ”). As per usual, I’ve got 15 […]
Kong: Skull Island Review
King Kong holds the honor of being among Hollywood’s first movie monsters, but “monster” has never been as relevant a label for the colossal ape as it is for his latest incarnation in “Kong: Skull Island.” Whereas most people think of Kong as a misunderstood beast who falls for the beautiful Anne Darrow, in this […]
Dunkirk Review
Imagine interviewing three different soldiers who all survived the same battle but experienced it from different vantage points, and asking them to tell their story. That’s the narrative feel to Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk,” a technical marvel of a war film with one simple aspiration: capture the feeling of helplessness in one of World War II’s […]
John Wick: Chapter 2 Review
“John Wick” deservedly earned a cult following in 2014 because of the way director Chad Stahelski and writer Derek Kolstad blended revenge-driven action with martial arts and the aesthetics of both first-person shooter video games and graphic novels. They created this seedy, neon hit-man underworld and tapped perfectly into the strengths of star Keanu Reeves. […]
The LEGO Batman Movie Review
Who could have imagined that “The LEGO Batman Movie” would be the Batman movie we didn’t know we needed? At first glance, spinning off “The LEGO Movie” take on the popular superhero seemed more like a goofy – but separate – iteration of the Caped Crusader for the family audience. But if Warner Bros. decided […]
The Big Sick Review
The big screen has experienced a burgeoning of “illness movies” in the last few years, and “The Big Sick” isn’t like any of them. Many of these films could be accused of leveraging illness for an emotional punch to the heart, but Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon’s story is not built around a character […]
Spider-Man: Homecoming Review
No Marvel superhero has been through the ordeal of Spider-Man on the big screen. Peter Parker’s first two films practically launched the modern superhero genre, but then after creative issues, Sony rebooted him, and audiences were less than enthused. Probably with much reluctance, Sony and Marvel Studios reached terms on a co- production to let […]
Okja Review
A teenage girl wants nothing more than to remain with her lifelong pet and companion – the super pig Okja – in Korean auteur Bong Joon- ho’s latest film. Everything else is just stuff that gets in the way.
Get Out Review
Horror tension, mystery tension and racial tension blend together into a gripping and formidable nail-biter in “Get Out,” the astonishing directorial debut of Jordan Peele. The former half of the comedy duo “Key & Peele” has found a way to both honor and subvert the thriller and horror genres in a way that’s unmistakably modern.
