Matthew Liedke

REVIEW: Greek Wedding 2 Is A Messy Rehash Of The Original

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” is the sequel that no one really wanted.

The movie picks up quite a ways in the future from where the first one ended. The main characters, Toula (Nia Vardalos) and Ian (John Corbett) are still married and are trying to prepare their daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) for college.

As if that isn’t stressful enough for the parents, Toula soon learns that her own parents Gus (Michael Constantine) and Maria (Lainie Kazan) are actually not officially married. For that reason, the big family is forced into preparing another wedding.

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REVIEW: Poor Pacing, Editing Ruin ‘Batman V Superman’s’ Attempt At Greatness

The fists certainly fly in “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice,” but audiences have to wait a while for that to happen in this comic book flick.

The film’s first main scene takes place during the Superman vs. Zod battle that wrecked much of Metropolis in “Man of Steel.” This time around, though, the combat is seen through Bruce Wayne’s (Ben Affleck) eyes. Bruce sees the damage caused by the alien battle and immediately views him as a threat. From there, Wayne’s alter ego decides to go after the Man of Steel.

Meanwhile, another billionaire, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eiseberg) has his own problems with Superman, and he also starts scheming against the hero. Even the government sees a problem with Superman as he continues to interfere with human engagements, which puts more pressure on the hero’s alter ego, Clark Kent (Henry Cavill). All of the mistrust in the movie is like a pot ready to boil over.

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Fargo Film Festival 2016 Highlights

March 18

After a drive from Bemidji, Minn., through the rain and snow yesterday, I finally arrived in Fargo for the city’s 16th annual Film Festival.

Thursday marked the first time since 2012, during my last semester at Minnesota State University in Moorhead right across the Red River from Fargo, that I had gone to the festival and it was great to be back.

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Before Dawn Of Justice: Ranking The Batman Films

This is part two in a series where I rank the films of both Batman and Superman before the movie “Dawn of Justice” hits theaters this weekend. having already done Superman, it’s time to move on to the caped crusader.

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Before Dawn Of Justice: Ranking The Superman Films

What’s being billed as the “greatest gladiator match in the history of the world” is just around the corner. “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” opens this week, but before it does, I figured I would put together a short series ranking the Superman and Batman movies.

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REVIEW: ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ Highlighted By Acting, Claustrophobic Atmosphere

Since it’s right in the title, I’ll address the elephant in the room first. For those thinking this might be a sequel to the 2008 giant monster movie “Cloverfield,” you’re out of luck. The J.J. Abrams produced “10 Cloverfield Lane” has nothing to do with the creature that attacked New York City and does not serve as a sequel.

Instead, this film acts as a sort of anthology successor, maintaining the same mysterious tone of other Abrams’ pictures while still being its own film.

The movie starts off with a quick introduction of the protagonist, Michelle, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who has decided to leave her fiance. On the way out of town, though, she is caught in a car accident on the highway.

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REVIEW: ‘London Has Fallen’ Doesn’t Live Up To Olympus

“Olympus Has Fallen,” released in 2013, was actually an enjoyable action flick. Of course it was an obvious take on the “Die Hard” idea of one man being in a building against a whole group of baddies, but it was still a fun time at the theater.

The action was intense with a solid R rating and the “Die Hard” set up of being trapped in a single location always makes for suspense. Another strength the movie had going for it was the use of a cast that included Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo and Angela Bassett, similar in a way to “Air Force One.”

Unfortunately, because of the first film’s box office performance, a sequel had to get made, and this time things didn’t come together very well.

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REVIEW: Disney’s Win Streak Continues With The Fantastic ‘Zootopia’

Since John Lasseter took over Walt Disney Animation Studio, the company has continuously put out good material. “The Princess and the Frog,” “Tangled” and “Wreck it Ralph” were all well crafted features and “Frozen” and “Big Hero 6” were downright great. I’m very happy to report that “Zootopia” may be a film that tops them all.

In the movie, Zootopia is actually a major metropolis populated by all sorts of mammals. The film follows Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), a bunny who becomes the first of her kind to join the Zootopia Police Department but is immediately given parking meter duty. She gets a big break, though, when she manages to work her way onto a missing persons case.

In doing so, she teams up with a Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a cynical con-artist who has a few clues as to what happened.

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REVIEW: Triple 9 Squanders Talented Cast With Disastrous Story

The cast of “Triple 9” includes Oscar winner Kate Winslet, Academy Award nominees Chiwetel Ejiofor, Casey Affleck and Woodey Harrelson, Golden Globe Nominee Aaron Paul and Independent Spirit Award nominee Anthony Mackie.

Simply put, this film was loaded with talent, and unfortunately it squanders it. The film follows a group of criminals who also happen to be corrupt police officers in Atlanta. The gang, which includes Michael (Ejiofor) and Marcus (Mackie) seem like they want to get out of the lifestyle they’ve fallen into, yet because they’re on the hook for the Russian mafia, led by Irina Vlaslov (Winslet), they’re forced into more heists.

Meanwhile Detective Jeffrey Allen (Harrelson) is investigating the recent heists and trying to solve who on the police force may be crooked.

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Movie Report: ‘Spotlight’ Wins Top Prize, Stallone Upset By Rylance

At the end of the ceremony it was “Spotlight” left standing in a stacked Best Picture category. Beating out Producers Guild Award winner “The Big Short” and Directors Guild Award winner “The Revenant,” “Spotlight” took Best Picture as its second victory of the night, the first being Best Original Screenplay.

Likely the biggest story from the ceremony, though, was Mark Rylance of “Bridge of Spies” winning a huge upset over Sylvester Stallone who starred in “Creed.” Stallone had won plenty of hardware and momentum going into the evening but it was Rylance who took the trophy.

Another upset from the night was “Til it Happens to You” from the documentary “The Hunting Ground” losing to “Writing’s on the Wall” from the latest James Bond flick “Spectre.” Both upsets were a shock from my perspective and each announcement made the Twitter-verse explode.

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