Movie Reviews

      Blade Runner 2049 is a rare cinematic occurrence in that it is a long delayed sequel (30+ years) that exceeds the original by miles.  Everything about Blade Runner 2049 is better than the 1982 original Ridley Scott film.  This is a true sci-fi noir that features great performances, bold filmmaking, a twisty, captivating story, and some of the best visuals I have seen on screen in 2017. It is really hard to explain…

      American Made is a wild and crazy story that is almost too crazy to be true.  It tells the story of Barry Seal (Tom Cruise), a T.W.A pilot who is recruited by the C.I.A. to fly over South America and bring them intel.  While on his missions, he is approached by a drug cartel and asked to assist them in bringing in cocaine to America.  Barry’s life begins to spiral out of…

      Here’s how you know you have a great sports movie on your hands: When the movie is based on a true event yet during the climactic game or match, there a people in the theater clapping, almost as if they’ve never heard of this event ever in their life.  This is the case for Battle of the Sexes, a soaring, crowd-pleasing true story that is far more than just a run-of-the-mill sports flick….

      According to the Kingsman, “Manners maketh man.”  According to Hollywood, “Sequels maketh money”, which is why we have Kingsman: The Golden Circle, a mildly entertaining, yet overlong and unnecessary sequel to the 2014 hit. When their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, Eggsy (Taron Edgerton) and Merlin (Mark Strong) journey to the U.S. to get assistance from an allied spy organization known as the Statesman in order to stop the…

      I saw Darren Aronofsky’s mother! a week ago.  Usually, I am pretty good about reviewing movies right after I see them or within a couple days, but mother! was different.  This was a movie that had me thinking before, during, and after, and I am still thinking about it a week later.  I don’t exactly know what to think about this movie.  I will say that my opinion has shifted slightly, which why the…

      American Assassin is a mindless movie, but not your typical mindless movie.  When I say mindless, you probably think of a movie like Transformers (2007), where it requires the audience to barely use their brains because of the little to no substance in the film.  American Assassin is a movie that craves substance and wants to you to think but doesn’t require you to because it treats the audience like infants and spoon-feeds us everything…

    It is my favorite kind of horror movie in that it is a horror movie that doesn’t rely on it’s scares to be a good movie.  Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of scares in this movie, but that isn’t what warrants the high rating.  What drives It to horror excellence is the coming of age story hidden beneath the terror.  This is a movie about love, friendship and conquering your fears. In…

      Director Steven Soderbergh returns to the big screen after a short retirement with Logan Lucky, a film that can best be described as hillbilly Ocean’s 11 (2001), or, as one character says in the movie, “Ocean’s 7-11“.  Soderbergh shows why he is a legend with a wildly entertaining, twisty, fun movie that proves Soderbergh is still at the top of his game. After getting fired from his construction job for liability reasons, Jimmy…

    I don’t know if I have had a better time at the movies this year than I did during The Hitman’s Bodyguard.  Sure, we’ve seen this story before, but with two mega-stars like Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds leading the way, tear-inducing comedy, and badass action, this is the summer comedy I have been waiting for all summer. Reynolds stars as Michael Bryce, a bodyguard who was, at one time, the best in…

    I hated, HATED the first Annabelle (2014).  It was incredibly boring, had absolutely zero scares, and felt like a cash grab riding on the coattails of the success of The Conjuring (2013).  But with Annabelle: Creation, we have a rare occurrence on our hands where a horror sequel, or in this case, a prequel, is better than the original.  This isn’t just an improvement on the first film, this is a complete 180.  Director David S. Sandberg…