"You are now in the presence of the muthafuckin' KING!" proclaims Laurence Fishburne as the Bowery King in the opening moments of John Wick: Chapter 4. Presumably he's referring to himself, given his self-appointed title as leader of a network of homeless assassins and informants, but given that he prefaces this line with text from … Continue reading The Denouement – John Wick: Chapter 4
I confess I didn't have high expectations for DC League of Super-Pets. In fact, I included it in this month's edition of "TFINYW" for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that the Secret Life of Pets movies kind of soured me on the idea of animated movies about domesticated … Continue reading The Rock Rolls Over – DC League of Super-Pets
The history of the Matrix franchise is a fraught one, with tremendous highs and cavernous lows. In a series that delighted in how much its story could be bathed in biblical overtones, it in itself became a cautionary tale hewing closer to Greek tragedy due to the Wachowski (then) Brothers' unchecked ambition, trying to cram … Continue reading You Have No Choice – The Matrix Resurrections
It's the holiday season, and bad movies are the gifts that keep on giving. This year is no exception. As Awards Season reaches its peak, there are oh so many also-rans and downright pieces of shit out there that studios are hoping to make some money off of in the meantime, either by selling them … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – December 2021
We come to it at last. After months upon months of theatres being shuttered to the point that there's no realistic hope of reopening this year (at least in Los Angeles), I've come to the end of my 2020 catch-up. There is still a plethora of documentaries to sort through, and I'll get to that … Continue reading DownStream – The Summer’s Gone
Normally, the Razzie nominations come out the day before the Oscars do, and are awarded the night before the Academy hands out their hardware. However, because of the accelerated AMPAS schedule, the Razzies, which are more of a fun gag than anything else, decided not to go along with the crowd, instead holding off the … Continue reading It’s a Cat-Tastrophe – 40th Annual Golden Raspberry Nominees Announced!
The Year of Our Ford 2019 is halfway complete, and so far the tally for me is 48 movies, one off the pace I had set by this point last year. Unlike last year, however, 2019 has been a decided step back in terms of cinema quality. There aren't too many great films, and most … Continue reading The 2nd Annual Oscs – Celebrating the Best (and Worst) of 2019 so far!
We're just about to wrap up the first half of 2019, so before we officially hit the midway point, this is as good a time as any to go DownStream and take a look at some recent streaming fare. On deck this time are four documentaries dealing with people and events that help reshape the … Continue reading DownStream – Fight the Power Couple
Nine years ago, Pixar brought its flagship franchise to an end in just about the most perfect way possible. Eventually earning a Best Picture nomination and lauds from even the likes of Quentin Tarantino as the best film of 2010, Toy Story 3 was a gut-wrenching masterpiece of animation, story, and emotional satisfaction, as Woody (Tom … Continue reading One More Adventure for Fork’s Sake – Toy Story 4
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
I Actually Paid To See This 