Reviews

No Time to Die: 3 1/2 stars out of 4



James Bond movies have always kind of felt like Indian food to me: all the individual elements are there, but I never walk away excited to come back. I think, at least with the Bond films, timing could be a big factor. I didn't start watching them until the beginning of

Venom: Let There Be Carnage - 2 stars out of 4



If you're worried that comic book movies have become too routine, "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" isn't going to calm your fears. Take away the amusing buddy comedy dynamic between Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock and his symbiotic alien goop Venom, and "Let There Be Carnage" has little else to offer.



Director

Reminiscence (2 ½ Stars out of 4)



Have you ever watched a movie and thought to yourself: “I like this world, but I want to hear a different story?”



Maybe it’s just me.



“Reminiscence” is a kind of sci-fi noir meditation on a universal sentiment, a mystery-thriller set in a post-apocalyptic future. But in spite of a strong cast and a compelling premise,

Free Guy (3 stars out of 4)



Shawn Levy’s “Free Guy” feels like a cross between a live-action “LEGO Movie” and the original “Tron.” If you consider yourself a gamer or a tech geek, you should be golden; but even if not, as long as you can roll with the nerd flow, it’s a good time.



The plot follows a glassy-eyed rube

The Suicide Squad (2 ½ stars out of 4)



The good news is that 2021’s “The Suicide Squad” is better than 2016’s “Suicide Squad.” The bad news is that the new movie still isn’t very good.



While it’s technically not a remake or a reboot, most everyone understands that James Gunn’s new take on the criminal super-squad is a re-do after the

“I'm sorry, I know ‘cheap’ is a trigger word for you.”“‘Frugal’ is such a better word!”



This is a low budget comedy that comes with all the cheesiness you can expect for a movie intended for a niche audience, but it is unexpectedly insightful. 



Premise



Bree Carrington (Clare Niederpruem) had the next few years of young adulthood all planned out. She would be

“Stillwater:” 2 ½ stars out of 4



In August of 2019 I took my first trip abroad, and quickly understood that my two years of French at Centerville Junior High wasn’t going to take me very far. That trip became one of my favorite memories of our last pre-pandemic year, but on my own in a foreign land, it felt more

"Jungle Cruise:" 2 ½ stars out of 4



Going in, I expected to like “Jungle Cruise,” and halfway through the movie, I still wanted to like “Jungle Cruise.” But by the time the end credits rolled, I just had to admit that I didn’t really like “Jungle Cruise.” Like “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Jungle Cruise” was inspired by a ride at

Premise



An army from 30 years in the future comes to recruit people in the present, as humanity’s last chance to fight in a seemingly hopeless war with alien invaders. Ex-military biology teacher, Dan Forester (Chris Pratt), is torn from his family and enlisted to spend seven days fighting in this future war. While his particular skill set is a valuable

2 ½ stars out of 4



I’ve always argued that the TV show “Lost” was built on a combination of suspenseful storytelling and great characterization, and its failure to resolve the former was at least tempered by its success with the latter. Sad to say, M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old” feels like the movie version of “Lost,” minus the great characterization.



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