Spring and summer blockbuster audiences tend to be quite fickle these days. The biggest case in point right now is Avengers: Endgame, which had the single biggest opening weekend in movie history, and is all but sure to be the top-grossing film of the year worldwide (and probably domestically as well). However, it's already been dethroned … Continue reading Take a Breath and Reload – John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum
Moorpark, California is located about 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles. It is in this rural community of just over 30,000 that John and Molly Chester established Apricot Lane Farms in 2010, a venture borne out of necessity after the couple was evicted from their Santa Monica apartment due to the noise caused by their … Continue reading We Bought a Farm – The Biggest Little Farm
This is a review I've been waiting to write for a long time. In a weird way it makes a sort of logical sense. Tolkien, the Fox Searchlight biopic about the author of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" among others (and incidentally the first Searchlight release since the Disney acquisition), is not just … Continue reading It’s Always Been About the Journey and the Companions – Tolkien
I'll say right upfront that this review has to be taken in a very specific context. Starring Ryan Reynolds and Justice Smith (last seen screaming like Dakota Fanning in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), Warner Bros. brings what may be the very first truly successful video game adaptation to film with Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. Set inside the pocket monster … Continue reading Video Game Movies Finally Get a Clue – Pokémon: Detective Pikachu
The last weekend of movie-going I've experienced has been one of running against archetype. First I saw The Intruder, and later I saw another film where the lead is well against the characters they normally play. I'll review that one in a couple of weeks, as I saw an advance screening and am bound by NDA … Continue reading The Devil On Your Shoulder May Be the Better Angel – Hail Satan?
Every once in a great while, you get to see something truly original. In the case of The Intruder, it is seeing the quite possibly unprecedented villain turn of perennial good guy Dennis Quaid. Seriously, while I have a couple of vague images in my head of him putting on a wry, cheeky smile, I can't … Continue reading Let the White One In – The Intruder
You could be forgiven if you've never heard of Claire Denis (or if you misread her name as Claire Danes), as she's not a name that most American movie-goers would know. If you're a fan of French cinema, however, you've almost certainly come across her work. She's one of France's most acclaimed filmmakers, with fairly … Continue reading Robert Pattinson is a Reformed Dick in a Box – High Life
Okay folks, I've waited long enough. I'm not going to "spoil" anything, because you've most likely already either seen the movie ($1.2 billion worldwide opening), have already been spoiled (seriously, LeSean McCoy, WTF Shady?), or simply just don't care. I will discuss plot elements, and I will reveal one late item that is already public … Continue reading Marvel Plays Their Greatest Hits – Avengers: Endgame
This is a review I've put off for a while for one reason or another. I had a bit of a backlog with articles and new features I wanted to debut when I saw this just over a week ago. Then I thought it'd make for a good Easter review, as this film does go … Continue reading Hell Hath No Fury Like a Chica Scorned – The Curse of La Llorona
Welcome to the newest feature here on the blog! I've been tooling this one around in my head for a while now, more than a year actually. The initial seed of the idea was to do a "Back Row Thoughts" column about movie marketing methods that just need to die (and boy are there a … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – May 2019
I Actually Paid To See This 