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Heroes and Villains

4 Aug

On the surface, the two new movies Suicide Squad and Gleason would seem to have very little, if anything, in common.

One is a big, loud comic-book movie about a group of meta-human villains, and the other is a true-life documentary about the devastating effects of ALS on a former NFL football player. One is about some very bad characters acting sort of heroically and the other is about an actual hero acting even more heroically.

But at their cores, both movies are about flawed heroes. Heroes overcoming their own challenges.

And here they both are in theaters, presenting discriminating moviegoers with a choice. Which one should you see? Here are my reviews. Continue reading →

Tickled Is So Much More Than a Laughing Matter

27 Jun

tickled-posterIf it’s true that truth is stranger than fiction, then what are we to make of the new documentary Tickled?

Ostensibly the story of a New Zealand reporter who wants to know more about the world of Competitive Endurance Tickling (yes, that’s really a thing), this documentary takes viewers on an unforgettable journey down a rabbit hole so twisty they’ll never see the bottom coming.

Without spoiling anything, here’s the gist: David Farrier is one of those lighter-side TV personalities who is always reporting on the weird and wacky side of life. So when he comes across videos featuring the sport of “competitive endurance tickling,” he figures he’s found his next great story. In the world of CET, a young jock is held down — shackled, actually — and, yes, tickled by one, two, or three other men. Why do they do this, other than, apparently, for significant financial gain? Who wants to watch this? And who is behind it all? Continue reading →

Blake Lively vs a Shark, and Other Summer Movie Thrills

24 Jun

blake-lively-the-shallowsWhat’s with movie producers putting Blake Lively in danger? First, Ben Affleck turned her into a drugged-up townie in The Town. Then, she got kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel in Oliver Stone’s Savages. Now, the erstwhile Serena van der Woodsen is being hunted by a hungry shark in The Shallows.

My girl just can’t catch a break!

Unfortunately, the same can be said for moviegoers. Based on the films I’ve seen in the past few weeks, there’s not a breakout that screams “must-see.” So, with that spoiler aside, I figured I’d share a bunch of recent reviews, starting with a review of Blake Lively’s latest. Continue reading →

“Don’t Be Afraid to Let the Experience Find You.”

6 Apr

Everybody Wants Some posterThe best Richard Linklater movies have always emphasized dialogue and character over plot. And the fleeting nature of time has often been a dominant theme.

Boyhood, Linklater’s Oscar-nominated 2014 social experiment, beautifully documented in subtle fashion what it was like for a young boy to grow up over the course of 12 years.

The films in his Before trilogy (Sunrise, Sunset, and Midnight) each focus squarely on the same couple, and we watch as these two walk and talk and talk and talk, examining their own relationship as it evolves.

Dazed and Confused, the instant classic saga of Austin, Texas, high school kids in search of a party on the last day of school in 1976, featured a cast of up-and-coming actors mostly talking, driving around, and hanging out — when they weren’t getting high, of course.

Now, Linklater returns to school with Everybody Wants Some!! (yes, there are officially two exclamation points in the name), what the writer/director is calling his “spiritual sequel” to Dazed. That means we’re still in Texas (natch), but it’s four years later and none of the characters are the same. Continue reading →

The Top 10 Movies I’ve Seen So Far This Year

28 Mar

batman v supermanBefore you get too excited about that headline and the blog post that follows, I need to offer a brief disclaimer: I’ve only seen 10 movies so far this year. And these reviews are in order of when I saw them, which means they’re unranked.

So … sorry for the clickbait.

Alas, I wanted to clear the deck before any good movies come out. So here we go: My first 10 review blurbs of 2016. Continue reading →

Finishing Off a Big Movie Year

8 Jan

the-revenantWhile you were out seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens once, twice, three times, or maybe even four, a bunch of other movies hit theaters. Sure, I did already publish my top movies of 2015 blog post, but now that all of these last few have hit theaters nationwide, and since none of them made my year-end list (the good one or the bad one), here are my final movie reviews of 2015. Continue reading →

Putting the Spotlight on My Favorite Movies of 2015

29 Dec

jurassic-worldWhat a great year for the movies 2015 was. Yes, I say that every year, because when you’re looking back on your favorite releases, it’s hard not to think positively.

But the fact is, going to the movies brought me a lot of pleasure this year, and not always due to conventionally good films.

To that end, two of the most enjoyable movies I saw, Jurassic World and, especially, San Andreas, delivered exactly what I wanted them to despite (or maybe because of) dubious quality.

Other films were pleasant surprises, like The Peanuts Movie, Ant-Man, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. — and I mention that last film not just because it featured Alicia Vikander’s most adorable, most endearing, and most winning performance of the year.

I saw a lot of excellent documentaries this year, including Sunshine Superman, The Wolfpack, He Named Me Malala, and The Hunting Ground, and I watched as one of my all-time favorite docs, Man on Wire, became a drama: The Walk.

All this is to say, it was fun to be a frequent moviegoer this year. And frequent I was: I saw a total of 85 movies — more than I’ve ever seen in a single year.

Seeing so many movies made it even more of a challenge to narrow them down to my 10 favorites; you’ll notice the ones mentioned above didn’t even make my list. Which ones did make the list? Let’s get to it. Continue reading →

These Are the Movie Reviews You’re Looking For

22 Dec

Star-Wars-The-Force-Awakens-Han-Solo-ChewbaccaA not-very-long time ago, in a galaxy not very far away, I finally got to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. No worries, you won’t find any spoilers here. Only a true member of the Dark Side would do that.

But Star Wars wasn’t the only movie I’ve seen since Thanksgiving. So, with Christmas coming in just a few days, let’s take a look at five new or recent releases that’ll be playing at a theater near you this upcoming holiday weekend, and whether I think they’re worth your time.

(Note: Numbers next to each film refer to the total number of movies I’ve seen in 2015, and the order in which I saw them.) Continue reading →

Time for Thanksgiving Leftovers at the Movies

4 Dec

creed-movieWe’ve arrived at December, and that means it’s time for all the awards-bait movies (and a little something called Star Wars: The Force Awakens). But before we get into all of those, I thought I’d clear the slate and tell you what I thought of the movies I’ve seen in recent weeks since my last collection of reviews — many of which, appropriately enough, were turkeys.

As always, numbers refer to the total number of movies I’ve seen this year. And no, I didn’t see The Hunger Games. Haven’t seen a single movie in that entire series. Continue reading →

Make Room for These Movies on Your Must-See List

9 Nov

SpectreThe Oscar race is in full swing, folks. We know this because in the past month, quite a few films have been released that will likely figure in the year-end awards.

Which one will take home the top prize? It may be one of the movies I’ve seen since my last reviews roundup. Here are all the movies I’ve seen in recent weeks, in order of when I saw them.

(Note: Numbers reflect the total number of movies I’ve seen so far in 2015.) Continue reading →

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