Movie Reviews

Movie Review -- 'The Predator' is Another Poor Attempt at Rebooting a Franchise

I’ll be upfront with my sins against the obsession with everything 80s and 90s - I’ve never seen Predator or Predator 2. I’ve gleaned that the important lines are “Get to the choppa!” and “You’re one ugly m-fer” from growing up surrounded by pop culture, and I’m at least familiar with the original premise being “It’s The Most Dangerous Game… but with aliens.” So director Shane Black’s The Predator could be a perfect follow-up to those original films, and that would have been lost on me. I’m sorry.

I have, however, seen Predators, the 2010 entry...

Movie Review - Affleck Stretches Himself Too Thin in 'Live by Night'

It’s hard to deny that after years out in the desert of bad movies, Ben Affleck has returned like a phoenix, winning the hearts of movie-goers and critics alike. Even with the recent flop of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Affleck still rose above with a stellar portrayal of Bruce Wayne. However, with every victorious comeback there’s the liability of ego and with Live by Night, Affleck stretches himself too thin, producing, directing, writing, and acting. While there’s plenty to like, the bland main character and quiet acting by Affleck ultimately can’t hold up the long...

Movie Review -- 'Hail Caesar!' -- The Coen Brothers at Their Silliest and Most Enigmatic

hail-caesar

Fans of the Coen brothers have come to expect two kinds of releases from the movies’ most irascible duo, as distinct as the musicals, westerns, and prestige pictures that dominated the old Hollywood studio system. There are the major Coens films, like Barton Fink, Fargo, and No Country for Old Men; boundary-pushing, serious-minded efforts that have made them one of the most respected forces in filmmaking. On the other side are minor efforts, like The Hudsucker Proxy, The Big Lebowski, and Burn After Reading: typically silly comedies that...

Movie Review -- 'Mad Max: Fury Road' -- An Edge of Your Seat Thrill Ride

maxresdefault
It’s not often audiences return to a franchise with such sincerity and force that it transcends being a reboot altogether and becomes something more as if we never truly left in the first place. Such is the case for Mad Max: Fury Road. The world has dried up in the distant future, leaving the lands a desert and barren. Resources are hard to come by, and many are preyed on by scavengers and bandits. “Mad” Max Rockantansky (Tom Hardy) is running from many things: his past, the nightmares and more importantly these pale skinned scavengers called War Boys. Ruled by a cult leader King Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne),...