We are officially done with the first quarter of the 2017 cinematic year and, surprisingly, it was a pretty solid start to the year, though not without its misses. Quarter two starts off with a decent month that features one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the year, but really highlights some true indie darlings. Here are my picks for the best movies coming out in April. 5 – FREE FIRE (Ben Wheatley, April…
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There is nothing special about Life. Everything that happens in this movie we have seen dozens of times before and done better each time. Even with its stellar cast, nothing in this movie is exciting, original, or scary, causing the movie to do an overall dud. The movie is about a team of scientists aboard the International Space Station that discover a rapidly evolving life form, that caused extinction on Mars, and now threatens the crew…
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The opening of CHiPs is a black screen with a warning on it that reads, “The California Highway Patrol does not promote this movie. At all.” Well, neither does this reviewer. CHiPs has a few parts that made me chuckle, but overall is an immature, uneven, unfunny action comedy. When aN F.B.I. agent (Michael Peña) goes undercover in the California Highway Patrol, he is teamed with a reckless, clumsy rookie (Dax Shepard) and the two work…
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Movies become TV shows and TV shows become movies, it’s just a thing that happens. We’ve seen great movies like Fargo, Lethal Weapon, and Scream be adapted into relatively successful TV shows. We’ve gotten movies from shows like Downton Abby, Breaking Bad, and Charlie’s Angels (again) and there are more to come. But of all the TV shows that have become movies, these are the very best. These are my picks for the movies based…
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There has been a thread going around the internet of people naming the best movies of each year they have been alive. So I decided to give it a whirl and give my picks. I am going to name my favorite movies every year since 1988 and I will include my current favorite movie of 2017, though that is subject to change as the year goes on. And, at the very end, I am going…
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The Belko Experiment is the definition of B-movie madness. This is a movie that would have played perfectly at a midnight screening in a garbage theater on some sort of hallucinogenic drug. It is a bloody, violent, insane movie with a simple plot, cliché characters and the right amount of cheesiness. The Belko Experiment takes place at Belko Industries, a government building set in middle of nowhere Columbia. On a typical work day, the building…
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Who says movies have to be set in multiple locations and have a number of set pieces? There have been a number of movies through out time that have taken place in one central location, and we’re getting another one this weekend in The Belko Experiment. So in honor of that, here are my picks for the best movies set in one place. NOTE: I realize some of these movies don’t 100% take place in one…
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Beauty and the Beast is the fifth live-action adaptation of a Disney animated classic following Maleficent (2014), Cinderella (2015), The Jungle Book (2016), and Pete’s Dragon (2016) (we don’t count 2010’s candy-colored Alice and Wonderland). When it comes to these remakes, what exactly are we looking for? Are we looking for a near shot-for-shot remake of the original animated film? A reinvention of the classic story? A little bit of both? Cinderella was closer to the shot-for-shot version, as was The…
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Samuel L. Jackson is the man. Plain and simple, the man. With his loud voice, boisterous personality, and acting talent, Jackson has become a Hollywood icon and one of the most recognizable and most enjoyable faces to see on screen. This Friday, Jackson stars alongside Ryan Reynolds in The Hitman’s Bodyguard, a hilarious, awesome movie and another excellent performance in his already staggering filmography. So in honor of that, I am going to count down…
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Kong: Skull Island is the fourth incarnation of the infamous giant ape, following the original classic from 1933, the 1976 version starring Jeff Bridges, and Peter Jackson’s 2005 version. Those 1976 and 2005 versions are both remakes of the 1933 film, all being essentially the same movie with a few story changes and new technology for each film. But in Kong: Skull Island, we get something that is both original, yet keeps the same spirit and similar…
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