Most sports documentaries focus on The Big Game and linger on the final celebration, relishing the winning score as it blares from the scoreboard. Dean Kaneshiro’s Rise of the Wahine: Champions of Title IX isn’t about a single game or the winning score at the end of a season, but a much greater victory with […]
STOKE New Movie Review: The spellbinding indie succeeds at capturing local flavor and evoking social commentary
At the start of Stoke, the debut film of writer/director team Zoe Eisenberg and Phillips Payson, we meet Jane (played by Caitlin Holcombe), who has sunk into a state of depression. She’s advised to get out of bed and take a trip, and a televised news story of lava flows inspires her to visit the […]
CAPTAIN MARVEL New Movie Review
Hints of Marvel Cinematic Universe fatigue have been detectable for a few years but finally overwhelms their latest product. The lesser of the mega-blockbuster MCU films have a dull interchangeability, underwhelming villains, and an over-reliance on CGI spectacle. This is especially evident in Captain Marvel, which, unfortunately, is an iffy showcase for the talented Brie […]
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD New Movie Review
It’s been five years since we last met up with Hiccup, the clumsy but remarkably brave young warrior who best friend is Toothless, a sweet yet ferocious dragon. The two live in Berk, a vast land shared by Vikings and hordes of dragons, who now live in harmony. A ruthless dragon hunter named Grimmel threatens […]
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL New Movie Review
According to David Hughes’ The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made, James Cameron spent ten years after Titanic pondering what to make next before ultimately deciding on Avatar. During that period of indecision, Cameron came this-close to directing Terminator 3, Spider-Man, and True Lies 2. Alita: Battle Angel had also been floating around the rumor mill […]
HAPPY DEATH DAY 2 U: The scariest part is the possibility of another sequel
Two years ago, the busy, lucrative Blumhouse Productions horror company unleashed Happy Death Day on teen audiences and scored a solid hit. Depicting a self-absorbed college student named Tree (played by Jessica Rothe), who is murdered by a mad slasher and relives the fateful day again and again, it had the nerve to rip-off Groundhog […]
THE PRINCESS BRIDE Retro Movie Review: ‘As you wish,’ the cult classic returns to the big screen for a special one-night showing
When Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride snuck onto screens late into September of 1987, hardly anyone noticed. School was back in session and, after a summer of testosterone-pumping behemoths like Beverly Hills Cop II, The Untouchables, and RoboCop, there wasn’t much of an audience for Reiner’s hard-to-categorize comedy/fantasy/adventure send-up. Making matters far worse were the […]
SERENITY New Movie Review: Matthew McConaughey’s Worst Movie?
When we meet Baker Dill (played by Matthew McConaughey), he’s drenched in sweat, living alone in a dumpy apartment, and lives to fish. Baker is particularly obsessed with catching a massive tuna he’s nicknamed “Justice,” a crazed fixation that has resulted in daily failed attempts to capture the fish with his patient first mate (played […]
THE FAVOURITE New Movie Review: ‘The Favourite’? Not Quite.
It happens every year. Of the dozens of movies that open between November and January that are touted as “The Year’s Best, Oscar-Bound, and An Instant Classic,” there’s always one in the pack that doesn’t live up to its hype. In fact, it’s usually a film I dislike so passionately, I wonder what on Earth […]
GLASS New Movie Review: The ultimate Shyamalan movie
M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable was a comic book movie ahead of its time. Arriving a year after the monster success of his spooky and deeply moving The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan’s Unbreakable was shrouded in secrecy. No one knew what the film was even about until the day it opened. The initial response was muted, if […]
THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD Movie Review: Don’t miss the Jan. 21 special showing of this ‘stunning’ film
The opening moments of They Shall Not Grow Old provides what you expect from a documentary about World War I; the footage is black and white, soundless and grainy. The aspect ratio is initially so boxy, it’s like looking through a keyhole at the center of the movie screen. Then, we hear the voices of […]
REPLICAS New Movie Review: How a not-good movie with a wacky screenplay won over this film critic
In the near future, scientist Will Foster (played by Keanu Reeves) moves the fading consciousness of a recently deceased man into a robot. When the robot “reawakens” as a skeletal machine with a metallic body, it immediately freaks out and rips its head apart. Clearly, Foster has never seen RoboCop and lacks the bedside manner […]
‘CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?’ New Movie Review: Straightforward filmmaking makes for a compelling and performance-driven actor’s showcase
Lee Israel was a real person, a once-promising writer who turned to forging famous letters in order to pay her bills. More to the point, Israel enjoyed her highly illegal practice of composing letters from famous, deceased authors (like Dorothy Parker), as she was being paid for work that was highly scrutinized and doted after. […]
VICE New Movie Review: This film has the outrage of 2018… but also its lack of nuance
The story of Dick Cheney’s startling political career is the subject of Adam McKay’s Vice, in which Christian Bale stars as the former White House Chief of Staff, Halliburton CEO, and Vice President to George W. Bush. Amy Adams plays his supportive wife, Lynne, while Sam Rockwell portrays George W. Bush; Steve Carell is Donald […]
Best of the Wurst 2018: The top 10 films of the year
A year in the life of a professional movie critic is a lot like marathon: You start slow, build a consistent pace, then give in to a full-on sprint at the very end. It never fails to amuse me how many pilau duds litter the first part of the year (anyone remember the first new […]
GREEN BOOK Bonus Movie Review: A tough and subtle film, one of the year’s surprise sleepers
In the 1960s, Tony Lip, a family man thug (played by Viggo Mortensen), is hired by Dr. Don Shirley, a jazz pianist (played by Mahershala Ali), as his driver for a record company-sponsored tour throughout the deep south. Tony is short-tempered, none-too-bright, and barely conceals his bigotry. While Dr. Shirley is far more educated and […]
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