Matthew Liedke

REVIEW: Main Concept Of ‘The House’ Not Fit For A Feature Film

“The House,” unfortunately, is another example of a film having comedic talent, but not the material to back it up.

The film revolves around the lives of two middle class, small town parents, Scott (Will Ferrell) and Kate (Amy Poehler). The movie picks up in the summer just after their daughter Alex (Ryan Simpkins) graduates from high school and prepares to go to a seemingly large, expensive college.

At first, this seems to be fine as Alex has been selected for a major scholarship. However, this is soon flipped as the city revokes the scholarship for a different use. As a result, the two parents become desperate to find another way to pay for tuition. At that moment, their friend Frank (Jason Mantzoukas) comes up with an idea for an ‘at home’ casino where they can make money and give the small town some thrills.

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REVIEW: ‘Baby Driver’ Is A B-Movie With Grade-a Filmmaking

Baby is not exactly a conventional name for an action movie character, but then again, Director Edgar Wright’s films are rarely conventional.

The film of course follows the lead character who goes by the alias Baby, played by Ansel Elgort. As the title implies, Baby is a driver, but more specifically, he’s a getaway driver for heists. In doing so, the young protagonist is able to work off a debt to a crime leader named Doc (Kevin Spacey) and at the movie’s onset, Baby’s almost done.

Just as he’s coming close to getting out of the crime world, though, he’s pulled into more heist jobs by Doc. At the same time, Baby meets and falls in love with a woman named Debora (Lily James), which only causes him to seek even more ways out of the crime world.

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REVIEW: Visually Impressive ‘Atomic Blonde’ Ruined By Convoluted Story

Beneath all of the style, colors and visual flair that “Atomic Blonde” offers to audiences, this late cold war spy thriller is unfortunately convoluted and dull.

The film follows special agent Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron), who’s sent by the British government to Berlin at the last moments of the cold war. Her mission is to investigate the murder of another operative and recover a list of agency information that may have fallen into the wrong hands.

To do so, Broughton has to work together with a less than professional British agent named David (James McAvoy) who’s been working in Berlin for the agency for years.

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REVIEW: ‘The Last Knight’ Is Another ‘Transformers’ That Doesn’t Get It Right

Convoluted story? Check. Weak acting? Check. Forgettable characters? Check. Humans given more important roles than the Autobots? Check.

Yep, this is a typical Michael Bay “Transformers” movie, just like the others, and that’s not a good thing.

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REVIEW: Good Cast Doesn’t Save Clichéd Comedy ‘Rough Night’

It’s always surprising when a movie comes along boasting plenty of talent that ultimately disappoints. “Rough Night” is a picture that falls into that category.

The film revolves around the character Jess (Scarlett Johansson) and her group of friends who are reuniting after quite some time. Friends since their days in college, the group decides to go to Miami for a bachelorette party for Jess, whose wedding day is close by.

While their party does get somewhat crazy, all seems to be going relatively well. That is until a male stripper whom they’ve hired ends up getting killed by way of an accident. As a result, the friends begin panicking and start trying to figure out how they can get out of the situation.

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REVIEW: ‘Cars 3’ Ends The Series On A High Note, But Continues To Fall Behind The Rest Of Pixar

The “Cars” universe has always confused the hell out of me and the latest entry is no exception. Like, why do the cars have doors and handles if there are no people? Why are there faster, more advanced cars? Are they built by other cars or is it cars evolving?

Those questions certainly came up with me from start to finish here, but the real important question is ‘was the movie any good?’

Well, not really, it more falls into the category of being just OK.

The movie once again follows the franchise’s protagonist Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson). A car who’s won multiple racing championships, McQueen is still competing and remains confident in doing so. However, as he enters his latest race, he finds himself falling behind the younger cars that appear to be far more advanced.

As a result, McQueen is always playing catch-up and this ultimately leads to an accident where he gets severely injured. What follows is McQueen’s quest for redemption and to regain his status as one of the best racers in the world. To do so, McQueen eventually finds help in professional trainer Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo).

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REVIEW: Universal’s Attempt At New Monster Series Crashes With ‘the Mummy’

Ever since Marvel made the prospect of a shared universe successful, allowing for numerous crossovers, many other studios have been trying to jump on the bandwagon. The latest attempt is the Dark Universe by Universal, which is trying to recreate its 1940s classic monsters with a new series.

Unfortunately, its debut in “The Mummy” is awful.

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REVIEW: ‘Wonder Woman’ Joins The Greats In The Superhero Genre

After a few strikeouts, DC Comics has hit it out of the park with its latest cinematic endeavor, “Wonder Woman.”

While the titular character had already been introduced in last year’s “Batman V Superman,” this film goes in depth to show how Wonder Woman became who she is. The film starts with the superhero, named Diana (Gal Gadot) growing up on an isolated island of Amazons, where she’s trains to prepare for the possible return of the God of War, Ares.

One day on the island, war comes to her, though, as an American pilot crashes in the surrounding waters. The pilot, named Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), informs the Amazons of World War I and his mission to help stop a doomsday weapon that could kill many more people. Diana, believing the war to be the work of Ares, decides to join Steve on his mission and help put a stop to the Great War.

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REVIEW: Second ‘Alien’ Prequel Hampered By Foolish Characters, Faux-Intellectualism

Director Ridley Scott has once again ventured into “Alien” prequel territory, but like the 2012 picture “Prometheus,” his new sci-fi “Covenant” has too many flaws and doesn’t come close to the level of the 1979 horror film.

Scott’s latest endeavor in the genre tells the tale of a colony star ship on course to set up a society on a remote planet. Their trip to this new planet, which has been properly vetted and researched to ensure that it’s completely safe, hits a snag, though, when a space phenomenon causes a malfunction.

Not only does this result in awakening the crew from their hyper sleep, it also causes the death of their initial captain. In the immediate aftermath while the crew is checking the status of the ship, which is carrying roughly 2,000 passengers, they discover a signal being sent from a remote planet that’s closer than the one they’re going to that has breathable air and water.

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REVIEW: ‘Snatched’ Earns Some Laughs, But Not Every Attempt At Comedy Works

Comedic actresses Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn partner up in this flick and on occasion they’re able to deliver some solid humor. However, both have been in better projects in the past.

In “Snatched,” Schumer plays a young woman who’s more or less hit rock bottom. She’s been just dumped by her boyfriend and fired from a rather dead-end job. Making matters worse, her breakup came just as her and her boyfriend were about to go on an exotic vacation to South America.

Because she still wants to go on the trip, though, she invites her mother Linda (Goldie Hawn) to go along. The two eventually make their way to the resort to begin their vacation, yet the two are somewhat at odds in how to spend their time. The two have to reconnect and repair their somewhat strained relationship in quick fashion, though, when they are abducted by a criminal enterprise.

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