Cooper Raiff announced himself as a name to know with his feature debut, Shithouse (which he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in), in 2020. Sure, it wasn’t a box office hit, but nobody was expecting it to be. And it didn’t need to be. Not when someone so young – he made it when he […]
Category: Movie Reviews
LIGHTYEAR Review: Characters, Gorgeous Animation Overcome Bland Story
Sequels, spin-offs, reboots, legacy sequels, requels (credit to this year’s Scream). They’re all the rage. So it makes sense that Disney and Pixar would eventually dip back into the Toy Story well (well, dip back into the well again, to be fair). So where does Lightyear fit into this? When the project was first announced, […]
HUSTLE Review: The Underdog Sports Drama Is Once Again A Winning Formula
I’m honestly surprised it took Adam Sandler this long to make a basketball movie. Golf, football, football again. But never basketball. And the Sandman loves basketball. So it had to only be a matter of time. And whenever it was going to happen, you knew he was going to do it the right way. In […]
TOP GUN: MAVERICK Review: Hell Yeah
Thirty-six years ago Top Gun launched into theaters, becoming a cultural phenomenon. It ended the year as the highest grossing movie on the way to securing four Oscar nominations, including a win for Best Original Song for “Take My Breath Away.” In other words, it was a massive movie in every sense of the word. […]
THE VALET Review: Doesn’t Break The Rom-Com Mold, But Is Still Plenty Charming
I can’t help but feel a little bit like a broken record any time I review a new romantic comedy. I don’t think that’s being lazy or anything; it’s just the nature of the genre. Unless a movie comes along and truly breaks the mold, or is unusually bad, romantic comedies tend to share several […]
SENIOR YEAR: Netflix Original Fails Its Terrific Cast
By default, any movie starring Rebel Wilson, Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao, Chris Parnell, Mary Holland, Justin Hartley (and even Alicia Silverstone in a tiny cameo) should be good. Or at least decent. That’s a powerhouse lineup right there. Their talent and charisma alone should be able to carry any movie. So I guess that makes […]
DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS: Trio Of Strong Leads Carry Another Good-Not-Great MCU Entry
As much as I love the MCU, one of the growing concerns is how the continuing movies will incorporate – or not – the constant influx of Disney+ shows to the already-huge lore. And so, that hasn’t really been an issue. Yes, going to every movie and watching every show will of course add to […]
MEMORY: Predictably Forgettable Liam Neeson Thriller
In Memory, Liam Neeson plays an aging hitman with early onset Alzheimer’s. If you take out Liam Neeson, and just have that one simple pitch line, that actually could make for an intriguing movie. But Neeson is there, and given that Memory is a 2022 movie, you can pretty much figure out what kind of […]
THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT: Nicolas Cage Is Back, Not That He Went Anywhere
Is there anyone better suited to play a parody of themselves than Nicolas Cage? The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent would argue no, and I don’t see any choice but agree. From his collection of over the top roles to his very real over the top lifestyle and spending habits, Cage’s life and career seem […]
FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE Review – The Magic Is Almost Back
The Fantastic Beasts series has always been an odd one. Harry Potter is a massive franchise (breaking news, right?), so of course Warner Bros was going to make a spin-off series. And there were plenty of stories and characters they could have chosen to explore. But going the Newt Scamander and Fantastic Beasts route was […]
