Reviews
‘Frozen Empire’ brings the Ghostbusters back home
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: 3 stars out of 4 I genuinely enjoyed “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” back in 2021, both as a continuation of the franchise and as a tribute to original cast member Harold Ramis. At the same time, the film made it clear that another key cast...
‘Lost Kingdom’ delivers a sad epitaph for the DCEU
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: 1 1/2 stars out of 4 My expectations were pretty low going into the second (and final) Aquaman film, but I hoped that at least maybe Jason Momoa could inject some energy into “Lost Kingdom” the way he did with “Fast X” earlier this year....
Quirky ‘Dream Scenario’ uses Nicholas Cage to comment on cancel culture
"Dream Scenario" - 3 stars out of 4 One of 2022’s more memorable films was, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” which cast Nicholas Cage as himself in a fun and at times surreal comedy-adventure about a late-career actor who gets in over his head when a wealthy...
Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ checks the historical boxes, and that’s about it
"Napoleon" - 2 1/2 stars out of 4 Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” traces the life of the iconic French emperor from the time of theFrench Revolution through his final exile after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. His rise andfall as a military leader is paired against...
Stunning visuals, worldbuilding offset ‘Creator’s’ so-so story
"The Creator" - 3 Stars out of 4 It seems rare nowadays for a science fiction film to come along that isn’t part of an existingfranchise. Even “Blade Runner” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” had sequels, and many sci-fi filmsare adaptations of well-known books or comics....
Cruise set to save the blockbuster (again) with ‘Dead Reckoning, Part One’
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One: 3 1/2 stars out of 4 It’s hard to think of a modern franchise as reliable as the Mission: Impossible films, at least in terms of quality. (I can think of a few that can be counted on to be crap, but that’s beside the...
‘Rise of the Beasts’ marks another decline in the Transformers franchise
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts – 2 stars out of 4 Thanks to 2018’s “Bumblebee,” the bar for “Transformers” movies was raised after a decade of overstuffed schlock. Unfortunately, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” takes the franchise back toward Bayhem. I went into...
Furious Fatigue is setting in with bloated ‘Fast X’
Fast X: 2 1/2 stars out of 4 “Fast X” might be the dumbest movie I’ve ever seen, but when it comes to the Fast and Furious franchise, that may be beside the point. The tenth installment of this joyously bizarre saga suffers from all of the maladies that have plagued...
‘Guardians 3’ isn’t awesome, but it is satisfying
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: 3 Stars out of 4 It’s too long, the plot’s a mess, and it’s pretty moody for one of Marvel’s “funny” franchises, but given the quality of the post-“Endgame” era, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is surprisingly good, and an appropriate...
Guy Ritchie’s ‘The Covenant’ is intense, exciting, and depressing
"Guy Ritchie's The Covenant" - 3 1/2 stars out of 4 “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” is a good movie that is a tough watch, and a perfect illustration of the way text and context shapes your experience with a film. On its own, it’s a tense and dramatic fictional story of...
‘Super Mario Brothers’ plays it safe in the Mushroom Kingdom
Super Mario Brothers was the first and last video game I ever passed. I was never much of agamer, but for a brief window in the malaise of junior high school, I got good enough atNintendo’s signature game that I was able to pass it with a single life. That’s probably...
Mild Cheers for this Cheeky Meta-Murder-Mystery
In the version of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” that my wife and I saw at Hale Centre Theatre inSandy, Utah last year, an inspector arrives at a country manor in a snowstorm, someone is offed, andoddball houseguests are interrogated. Nearly every character is...