I had a lot of issues with the first entry in the Fantastic Beasts series two years ago, and the latest film sadly exacerbates them. I've been a Harry Potter fan since the first movie came out, and I've watched them and read the books obsessively for the better part of my adult life. This includes … Continue reading Accio My Money Back! – Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
In 1992, id Software released Wolfenstein 3D, a computer game that essentially created the first-person shooter genre of modern gaming. In it, an American spy escapes from the titular castle (the game being the third in the Wolfenstein series), shooting his way through Nazi hordes, traversing secret passageways, and ultimately destroying dangerous (fictitious) German military experiments, including an … Continue reading The Closest We’ll Get to a Great Video Game Movie – Overlord
Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is a timeless classic of children's literature, and its 1966 TV cartoon adaptation a staple of holiday programming. In fact, for any of us over the age of 20, it's likely that the book and the TV special are the core exposures we've had to the story. It's … Continue reading How Illumination Stole Christmas – The Grinch
Melissa McCarthy has always been a frustrating figure for me. She's a brilliant comic actress and an insanely talented writer. When she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the hilarious Bridesmaids, I even briefly held out hope that the Academy might finally give comedy its due. But unfortunately, ever since she made … Continue reading Yes, But Only if You Keep Doing This Stuff – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
I'll fully admit that I was a bit biased going into the new Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, as I've been a fan of Queen my entire life. While they may not be the greatest band of all time, they are arguably the most artistic, bending genre and convention to their collective whim, and coming up … Continue reading Mercury Rises to the Pantheon of 2018 Cinema – Bohemian Rhapsody
The original Halloween, which debuted 40 years ago, is one of the greatest horror movies of all time, and it's certainly the best of the slasher subgenre. Director John Carpenter created a seminal character and film using the barest of elements, including a minimalist keyboard theme that still creeps me out to this day, and of … Continue reading Kenny Powers Delivers a Villain About As Scary as Austin Powers – Halloween
First off, my apologies for not posting these past few weeks. As previously mentioned, I was on a work assignment that took up an inordinate amount of time. As such, I have a bit of catching up to do, which is why the first review back is for a film that debuted three weeks ago. Bad … Continue reading Not Quite Jackie, Not Quite Bill, but Definitely Not Cheesy – Bad Times at the El Royale
If there's one word to describe Damien Chazelle's latest work, it would be, "gripping." That really is the best word I can come up with for First Man, his chronicle of the life of astronaut Neil Armstrong and the events leading up to the Apollo 11 moon landing. From the very beginning it is Chazelle's intent … Continue reading Riding Shotgun to History – First Man
If you've read this blog regularly, you know I am very much not a fan of remakes in general. In most cases, they're lazy, cheap, and an insult to our collective intelligence. That said, if there's a compelling reason, I will see a remade version of a classic film. Usually that reason comes in the … Continue reading The 4th Time’s Got Charm, But Not Much Else – A Star is Born
There's a reason that Disney fought so hard to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, giving us the truly awesome Homecoming in the process. It's because Sony, which has owned the movie rights to the character and its franchise since the turn of the century, has basically ruined him. We got one decent movie (Spider-Man), … Continue reading One Big Gloppy Mess of Goop – Venom
I Actually Paid To See This 