Steven Spielberg takes us back to his childhood with “The Fabelmans”, a semi-autobiographical odyssey that sees the acclaimed filmmaker at his most personal. I went in fully expecting to see an epic ‘love letter’ to moviemaking, and it certainly has some of that. But in reality, “The Fabelmans” is more of a testament to why … Continue reading
REVIEW: “Blackout” (2022)
Here’s another movie tapping into the well-worn ‘hero with amnesia’ premise. You know the ones – the protagonist wakes up unable to remember who they are. Soon they’re shooting it out with a bunch of goons who want to kill them, all while trying to piece back together their memory. This latest spin on the … Continue reading
First Glance: “The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
I’m a little late getting to this, but last week Marvel Studios dropped the first trailer for the upcoming third installment in their “The Guardians of the Galaxy” branch of the MCU. I’ve enjoyed the “Guardians” films, but I’ve never considered them top-tier MCU. The films are full of fun characters, but the hit-and-miss goofiness … Continue reading
REVIEW: “Broker” (2022)
Anytime I see Hirokazu Kore-eda’s name attached to a project you can bet I’ll be watching. The 60-year-old Japanese auteur’s last film was 2019’s “The Truth”, a terrific drama not near enough people talked about. It was Kore-eda’s first movie set outside of his native Japan and not in his native tongue. His latest, “Broker”, … Continue reading
REVIEW: “Violent Night” (2022)
“Violent Night” is dumb beyond measure, deliriously hyper-violent, and a glaring clone of countless other movies (just with a Christmas time setting). But here’s the thing, this holiday action-comedy is proud to be all of those things. In fact, it’s exactly what director Tommy Wirkola and the screenwriting duo of Pat Casey and Josh Miller … Continue reading
First Glance: “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”
Very little in the realm of movies could excite me more than this – “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”. 2023 was already stacking up to be a stellar year for movie lovers. One of the biggest treats was a new Indiana Jones movie. Most of us had written off any chance of a … Continue reading