Reviews

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 point.) Ever since JJ Abrams’ “Mission: Impossible 3” course-corrected

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 “Rise of the Beasts” with mixed expectations. “Bumblebee” was so good—really, the “Transformers” movie I think fans of the

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 its recent releases, and is getting dangerously close to “Sharknado”

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 capstone for one of the more unique trilogies to come out of the

"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 loyalty and honor and brotherhood, but at the same time,

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 the biggest reason I was interested in seeing Illumination’s new

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 given believable motives for killing thevictim, and the audience all become surrogate inspectors, champing at the bit

Premise



On the night of the 100th showing of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap,” a director (Adrien Brody) who hopes to make it into a film is murdered. Jaded Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) is joined by the unexperienced but enthusiastic Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) to investigate the cast and crew who seem untroubled by the loss of the unlikeable victim.



Characters Versus Plot



Although

Premise



Sam (Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton), a young boy in Granite City, idolizes the superhero Samaritan who disappeared 25 years ago after his ultimate battle with Nemesis. While some believe he gave his life to save the city, Sam suspects that the trashman who lives in his apartment complex, Joe Smith (Sylvester Stallone), is the masked hero in hiding. With crime and

Premise



A filmmaker (Dean Fleischer-Camp) becomes fascinated with an adorable talking shell (Jenny Slate) who lives in an Airbnb with his grandmother (Isabella Rossellini). As we explore the little guy’s world, Marcel discovers the possibility of reconnecting with his long-lost family through his growing popularity on the internet.



Unusual in the Best Ways



The film acts like a documentary and feels so genuine