Robert Rodriguez hardly ever misfires. He's a master of genre, with hits like Sin City, Planet Terror, and Machete. He's a frequent collaborator with Quentin Tarantino, and has a visual eye many filmmakers would kill for. That said, his latest film, Alita: Battle Angel, just flat out sucks. The film languished in Development Hell for over a decade because … Continue reading Throw it Back in the Scrap Heap – Alita: Battle Angel
The first Lego Movie was one of the most unique moments in modern cinema history. It was an absolutely shameless bit of corporate synergy that at the same time was a visual marvel filled with laughs, amazing animation, and an emotional gut punch of an ending that was surprisingly profound, taking us out of the animated … Continue reading Everything is Not Quite Awesome, But Still Pretty Fun – The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
There's a building visible from the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, as you're heading south towards LAX airport. It's the tallest building in the area, as heights are limited due to air traffic. The north facing side of the building is always draped in giant billboards for movies. Typically, it's for movies that aren't particularly … Continue reading Tween Knights Reign Over an Undeserved Flop – The Kid Who Would Be King
M. Night Shyamalan has come full circle over the last 20 years. He was an instant success with The Sixth Sense, a solid box office machine with Unbreakable and Signs, a Hollywood in-joke after The Village, then poison for a decade with horrible film after horrible film. Then he started to evolve and get his mojo back with The Visit, … Continue reading I’m Campy, Thanks for Asking! – Glass
We've got one last film to review from 2018 before tomorrow's announcement of the Oscar nominees. Stan & Ollie may get shut out of the proceedings entirely, or it could find itself up for a small handful of categories, it's hard to say. So far, it hasn't won anything, but it has gotten some nominations and … Continue reading The Way Nostalgia Should Be Done – Stan & Ollie
With Oscar nominations coming up on Tuesday, there are two more films from 2018 that I want to see and review during the holiday weekend. It's very possible that with these two in the books, I might be so far ahead of the curve that I'll only have the Short categories to tackle for this … Continue reading Drugs are Bad, Mmkay? – Beautiful Boy
Nicole Kidman received a Best Actress nomination at this year's Golden Globes for her performance in Karyn Kusama's noir thriller, Destroyer, and it's possible she could get an Academy Award nomination next week. As such, it's only proper that we take a look at this thematic departure for the past Oscar-winner, and see if the hefty … Continue reading About As Far From Stepford As it Gets – Destroyer
While coverage will continue on 2018 films as we get closer to the Oscar Blitz, that doesn't mean we get to sleep on the actual new releases that officially ring in the 2019 year in film. The first entry for this new year is Replicas, starring Keanu Reeves, released by Entertainment Studios, who let's just say … Continue reading No Winners in This Game of Clones – Replicas
Viewers of Denmark's Foreign Language entry, The Guilty, may find unexpected similarities to an American film from a few years ago, The Call, starring Halle Berry. In that 2013 film, Berry plays a 9-1-1 operator who works to save a kidnapping victim played by Abigail Breslin, which expanded from Berry's grounded performance to a slew of action … Continue reading Call Him, Definitely – The Guilty
I had an interesting new experience when I saw Germany's Foreign Language submission, Never Look Away the other night. It was my first trip to the Aero theatre in Santa Monica, part of the Arena Cinematheque chain of classical theatres, which includes the world famous Egyptian theatre, founded by Sid Grauman, who also founded the Chinese … Continue reading Truth Hurts, But is Still Beautiful – Never Look Away
I Actually Paid To See This 