A nice quality to great art is how addictive it can become. I was once told that, for example, “Breaking Bad” is the kind of series you get hooked on after the first four episodes, tops (truthfully, that show had me after the second episode). Here’s a movie that will have the same effect. With […]
Film Critique
‘The Hunt’ New Movie Review
[Note: All three movie theaters on Maui are closed until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.] One of the most frequently adapted stories is “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, in which rich humans hunt poor people for sport. In addition to an official film adaptation in 1932 (Connell’s story was published in […]
‘The Way Back’ New Movie Review: It’s a predictable, but moving, sports movie
In director Gavin O’Connor’s The Way Back, Ben Affleck stars as Jack Cunningham, a construction worker who’s been an isolated alcoholic since a personal tragedy crippled his personal life. A figure from Cunningham’s past reappears and asks him to coach the basketball team of his alma mater, which hasn’t won a game since Jack himself […]
‘The Invisible Man’ New Movie Review
In the riveting first scene of writer/director Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man, Cecilia (played by Elisabeth Moss) is making an escape. As her boyfriend sleeps deeply, she makes a late-night dash through his lavish apartment, putting together all her things and carefully making an exit from a home that is clearly her prison. Sometime later, […]
‘The Call of the Wild’ New Movie Review: Buck’s No Benji
Buck (played by a computer-generated canine) is a massive Saint Bernard whose spoiled existence as a household pet is cut short when he’s snatched and turned into a Yukon sled dog. He goes through a revolving door of owners, though the one who is especially taken with him is a sad prospector (played by Harrison […]
‘Neither Wolf Nor Dog’ Film Review: Catch a one-day screening of this indie film to see the shining performance of Dave Bald Eagle
Author Kent Nerburn (played by Christopher Sweeney) receives a random phone call, asking him to listen to the words of Dan, a Lakota Elder (played by Chief Dave Bald Eagle). Nerburn’s prior book indicated his sensitivity to Native American history and storytelling and his newfound assignment has him traveling hundreds of miles to construct a […]
‘Birds of Prey’ Movie Review: It’s a mixed bag
Four years after the baffling box office success and artistic low point of Suicide Squad, we have a spinoff movie that, thankfully, is so much better than the film that inspired it. Margot Robie returns as Harley Quinn, Joker’s unhinged ex-girlfriend and a formerly respectable Arkham Asylum psychologist, who is now lawless, deranged, and single. […]
‘Gretel and Hansel’ New Movie Review: It’s the first great movie of 2020
The first great movie of 2020 has arrived and it’s a weird little sleeper from director Osgood Perkins. Based on the well-known 1812 fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm, Sophia Lillis (so good as Beverly in IT) and Samuel Leakey (in his film debut) play the title roles, as the children lost in the woods […]
‘The Turning’ New Movie Review: The scariest thing is the wardrobe
Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, an absorbing ghost story from 1898, has been made into great films before. In fact, the Jack Clayton-directed 1961 horror classic, The Innocents, starring Deborah Kerr, remains a definitive and terrifying adaptation. Another great movie that was inspired by The Turn of the Screw (though it’s not an […]
‘Bad Boys for Life’ New Movie Review: It’s somewhere between desperate and guilty pleasure
Director Michael Bay made his filmmaking debut with Bad Boys 25 years ago and, with that medium-sized but exhilarating sleeper and the enjoyable The Rock, looked like a Tony Scott clone to watch for. Instead, with the release of Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and four rancid Transformers abominations, Bay solidified his reputation as America’s worst filmmaker. […]
Early 2020 Movie Preview: New Year, Not-So-New Movies
The 2020 movie year begins with The Grudge. That’s right, we’re starting a new decade of cinema with a remake of a hit movie from 2004, itself a remake of a great Japanese film from 2002. So much for original ideas. In fact, too many movies opening this year are remakes, sequels, prequels, and reboots, […]
‘Just Mercy’ New Movie Review: It leaves a haunting impact
Destin Daniel Cretton’s Just Mercy portrays the true story of how Bryan Stevenson, a civil rights attorney (played by Michael B. Jordan), began his career representing prisoners on death row. One of his clients, Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx) is awaiting his death sentence and has been locked up on dubious charges that the community around […]
‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Bonus Movie Review: Something’s off, and it isn’t a Force disturbance
As with every Star Wars review I write, this will be mostly spoiler-free, though I’ve rarely composed a critique of an installment from this franchise that is also so enthusiasm-free. Speaking of spoilers, the opening crawl (the BIG WORDS that slowly inch up the screen, filling us in on the story, while John Williams’ glorious […]
Best of the Wurst 2019: The top films of the year
The year that Paradise Video, the last video store on Maui, finally closed is the same year everyone got addicted to Disney Plus. A sign of the times. Someone once sang that “Video Killed the Radio Star” and it seems, at the moment, that streaming online has taken over the leave-your-home, mingle-with-filmgoers experience…except it hasn’t. Not […]
‘1917’ New Movie Review: It has great cinematography, but not much else
During World War I, two soldiers (played by George Mackay and Dean-Charles Chapman) are assigned to notify 1,600 fellow servicemen across enemy lines that they are about to step into a trap in which they will be massacred. By now, everyone and their tutu knows that 1917, director Sam Mendes’ World War I epic, was […]
‘Richard Jewell’ New Movie Review: It’s a near-masterpiece
In a very short amount of time, director Clint Eastwood’s new film, Richard Jewell, has gone from being one of the year’s eagerly anticipated adult dramas to the most controversial film of 2019. To get right to the point, the controversy is merited, as the film is imperfect in some ways – but don’t let […]