The long-awaited sequel to Top Gun has had its release delayed multiple times due to the COVID pandemic, and to his credit, Tom Cruise fought tooth and nail to ensure that the film would get a full theatrical release rather than going to streaming, as I'm sure its studio, Paramount, would have preferred simply for … Continue reading I Can Admit When I’m Wrong – Top Gun: Maverick
The heist movie is a subgenre that's basically out of gas at this point, at least from a plot perspective. Pretty much every film follows a fairly standard pattern of a big idea, complications that could be easily foreseen with a bit of logical thinking, at least two betrayals, and an ultimate victor when it … Continue reading Stacking the Deck – No Sudden Move
One of the more tragic things that's happened in recent cinema history is the decline of Clint Eastwood. One of the greatest actors and filmmakers of all time has sadly receded into a parody of himself, figuratively becoming the old man who yells at kids to get off his lawn after literally playing that figure … Continue reading There is a Bomb at Your Local Cinema; It Lasts 129 Minutes – Richard Jewell
One of the most annoying marketing ploys of the movie industry is a misleading trailer. The primary goal, of course, is to get people to hand over their cash and watch the movie, no matter how good or bad it is. Still, when you have to outright lie to make your sale, it leaves a … Continue reading No Diamonds, No Diapers – Lucy in the Sky
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
It's been an oddly good year for R-rated comedies featuring middle-aged all-star casts acting like children. Game Night is the best so far, and Blockers won me over to a certain degree. Now we have Tag, a goofball romp based on a Wall Street Journal article from 2013 about a group of childhood friends who keep themselves in … Continue reading You’re It! And By “It,” I Mean, Surprisingly Entertaining – Tag
When I first saw a trailer for Jon Hamm's latest outing, Beirut, I was interested. I wasn't necessarily drawn in by the proposed story of a hostage negotiation, but Lebanese history is something I find somewhat fascinating, as my biological father was stationed there the day I was born in August 1982, two months after the … Continue reading The Art Schmart of the Deal Schmeal – Beirut
I Actually Paid To See This 