Reviews
Jurassic World: Rebirth (1 star out of 4)
We’re seven films into the Jurassic Park/World franchise, and the filmmakers still don’t have any new ideas. “Jurassic World: Rebirth” feels like an excuse to make money without trying, and it deserves to join the fossil record as quickly as possible.
You know things are looking bad when during the opening flashback, a Snickers
We are halfway through 2025, and new original and franchise movies are still coming to audiences every week. During the first half of the year, the box office saw some highs and lows. Films like “Sinners”, an original story, making over $350 million at the box office, and other films like “Mickey 17”, not quite hitting the mark. Sequels like
F1: The Movie (3 stars out of 4)
“F1: The Movie” feels like a marriage between two cinematic objectives. The first is to give audiences the approximate experience of driving a Formula One racecar at 200mph. The second is to tie the race sequences together with enough of a story to make it feel meaningful.
Joseph Kosinski’s film is more successful at
28 Years Later (2 stars out of 4)
2002’s “28 Days Later” was a landmark for the zombie movie genre, even if you could argue—as many did—that it wasn’t really a zombie movie. Instead of plodding, brain-lusting undead, director Danny Boyle’s flesh-eating hordes were more akin to rabies patients on blood-vomiting steroids, but the simple fact that they sprinted rather than
In August of 2022, “Prey”, a late entry film in the “Predator” franchise, was released on Hulu. For a legacy sequel to a mostly dead franchise to be dumped on streaming, it was receiving mostly positive buzz. I had COVID at the time, and it was the perfect movie to watch in the haze of sickness. It was fun and
Materialists (3 stars out of 4)
I had mixed feelings going into “Materialists.” Part of me was excited to see Celine Song’s newest effort, since her first film, “Past Lives,” was one of my runaway favorite movies of 2023. But I was also apprehensive, since “Materialists” was packed with more traditional A-list actors like Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal (insert your
The Life of Chuck (3 stars out of 4)
Sometimes when I watch a movie I feel like the filmmaker is trying to solve a puzzle with only half the pieces. This is how I felt watching “Life of Chuck.” Mike Flanagan’s film is thoughtful and aspirational, and worthy of praise. And yet, his adaptation of the Stephen King novella left
Known for his quirky characters and photocard-esque filmmaking style, Wes Anderson returns to cinemas with his latest film, “The Phoenician Scheme”. Since his first film, “Bottle Rocket”, nearly 30 years ago, Wes Anderson has become a staple of the modern American filmmaking landscape. Anderson is a filmmaker who often explores themes of family, grief, and the human condition through symmetrical
Ballerina (2 1/2 stars out of 4)
“Ballerina” is pretty much the movie you expect it to be, which in this case is a strength and a weakness. It’s better than it might have been, but not as good as it could have been.
Len Wiseman’s film is a spin-off from Keanu Reeves’ popular John Wick franchise, showing the origins and emergence
The Phoenician Scheme (2 ½ out of 4 stars)
“Help yourself to a hand grenade.”
Oddly polite, deadpan lines like these are signature touches of a Wes Anderson movie, along with symmetrical framing, dramatic camera moves and broken protagonists. “The Phoenician Scheme” has an abundance of Anderson, and fans will have a lot of fun with the director’s latest outing. But I