Hollywood Reviews
MUFASA: THE LION KING Review: Barry Jenkins Brings His Indie Auteur Cred to Disney's Beloved Property
When Disney tapped filmmaker Jon Favreau (The Jungle Book, Chef, Elf) to direct a computer-animated remake of its 1994 classic, The Lion King, it was met with of raised eyebrows, minot irritation, and a shedload’s worth of doubt, but the...
GALAXY QUEST 4K Review: Shining in Mighty UHD
Calling everyone in sci-fi movie fandom! Paramount has recently released the intergalactic 1999 comedy, Galaxy Quest, on 4K for the film’s 25th anniversary. Directed by Dean Parisot (Bill & Ted Face the Music, RED 2) this film is still every...
KRAVEN THE HUNTER Review: Sony's Marvel-Adjacent Superhero-verse Goes Out With a Whimper
On purpose or not, everything eventually comes to an end, up to and including ill-conceived, poorly received, commercially unsuccessful series, franchises, and so-called cinematic universes. For the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), that day will surely come, likely sooner rather...
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN Review: The Coles Notes of Bob Dylan
It's not surprising that there is a probable audience for a biopic on Bob Dylan, America's greatest folk singer/songwriter, a true living legend who has released over 50 albums, and is still going strong, doing tour at the venerable age...
CREATURE COMMANDOS Review: Blood, More Blood, and a Little Sex, As Expected
James Gunn's new animated series is now streaming on Max.
NIGHTBITCH Review: Amy Adams Elevates An Otherwise Underwritten Script
Inarguably one of the most talented, hard-working, and almost as importantly, most popular performers of her generation, Amy Adams, has yet to win an Academy Award. As her six (and counting) Oscar nods attest, however, it's not for lack of...
Y2K Review: A Whole Lot Of Exciting Build-Up With A So-So Follow Through. Sounds Familiar.
It’s New Year’s Eve 1999, and all of our worst millennial nightmares are about to come true in Kyle Mooney’s high energy sci-fi comedy Y2K. Eli (Jaeden Martell, Knives Out) and Danny (Julian Dennison, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) are a...
THE ORDER Review: Extremely Standard, Extremely Well Done
Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, and Jurnee Smollet star; Justin Kurzel directs.
MOANA 2 Review: Stellar Animation, Wobbly Storytelling, Middling Outcome
Repurposed from a limited series initially intended for Disney’s streaming platform, Moana 2, an eight-years-in-the-making sequel, arrives in movie theaters with the usual expectations associated with big-screen Disney fare: vividly realized, sometimes stellar animation, relatively well-drawn, well-rounded, arc-driven characters, and...
GLADIATOR II Review: Ridley Scott Returns to Imperial Rome With Mixed Results
After more than two decades in development limbo, countless rejected drafts permanently memory-holed to studio vaults, and near endless studio dawdling, Ridley Scott (Napoleon, Blade Runner, Alien) seemingly inexhaustible even as his 87th birthday quickly approaches, makes a triumphant return...
DRAG ME TO HELL 4K Review: Mad, Visceral Storytelling
Sam Raimi’s 2009 return to horror after the 1992 Army of Darkness, Drag Me to Hell, is from a more innocent time. Just like ye old E.C. Comics and Tales From the Darkside, Drag Me to Hell is a morality...
RED ONE Review: Short on Christmas Cheer, Long on Holiday Schmear
If there was a Guinness World Record for the most jacked-up Santa in a big-budget, Hollywood-financed, holiday-themed action-comedy, Oscar winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) would win hands down and biceps curled for his committed portrayal of Father Christmas (aka, St. Nick,...
THE APPRENTICE Review: Or, How To Use Film To Capture An Essence Of Donald Trump
Ali Abassi's Trump biopic is a good film, better than most will think, regardless of what politics you follow.
HERE Review: Tom Hanks, Robert Zemeckis Reunion Disappoints, Underwhelms
As a commercially oriented, artistically ambitious, innovation-embracing filmmaker, Robert Zemeckis (Death Becomes Her, the Back to the Future trilogy, Romancing the Stone) enjoyed an unparalleled pre-21st century career where box-office, critic-approved hits far outweighed the occasional misses or missteps. Awards...
JUROR #2 Review: Legal Drama, By the Numbers
Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film stars Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris Messina, Gabriel Basso, Zoey Deutch, Cedric Yarbrough, Leslie Bibb, Amy Aquino, and Adrienne C. Moore.
HERETIC Review: A Diabolical Hugh Grant Takes Two Mormon Missionaries On A Hell Of A Ride
A pair of Mormon missionary sisters find themselves in a dangerous battle of wills with a charming but sinister spiritual seeker in Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’s religious themed horror puzzle box, Heretic. Sisters Paxton (Chloe East) and Barnes (Sophie...
ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES 4K Review
Not only is Halloween thankfully upon us, but the next major holiday, Thanksgiving, at least in America, is next. That can only mean one thing: it’s time for a re-watch of Addams Family Values! Our friends at Paramount Home Entertainment...
DISCLAIMER Review: A Rare Misstep From Alfonso Cuarón
The series is now streaming on Apple TV+.
DON'T MOVE Review: Filler Thriller Doesn't Overstay Its Welcome
If you hike or bike in city, state, or federal parks regularly, you're likely familiar with a simple, potentially life-saving rule: Always, and we do mean always, leave information behind as to where you're hiking or biking and when you're...
VENOM: THE LAST DANCE Review: Third Time's Sort of The Charm
Given how the Marvel stranglehold on entertainment has been loosened as of late, it can be hard for fans to know what to expect from a current Marvel film. It's become clear that having to be an expert across multiple...
