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. Bay’s gargantuan, … [Read more...] about ‘Bad Boys for Life’ New Movie Review: It’s somewhere between desperate and guilty pleasure
Film Critique
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, making a lot of the movie-going options feel like more-of-the-same. On the … [Read more...] about Early 2020 Movie Preview: New Year, Not-So-New Movies
‘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 the prison seem all too happy to … [Read more...] about ‘Just Mercy’ New Movie Review: It leaves a haunting impact
‘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 march plays) immediately gets things off … [Read more...] about ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Bonus Movie Review: Something’s off, and it isn’t a Force disturbance
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 one bit. Movie lovers … [Read more...] about Best of the Wurst 2019: The top films of the year