Category: 2020

LAMB Movie of the Month: ‘Host’ review

The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t just changed how we watch movies right now, but how we make movies. “Host,” a film focused on paranormal Zoom meeting, is a prime example.

For their regular virtual get-together, the main character Haley (Haley Bishop) brings together her group of friends for an online seance. Haley, who’s hired the medium for the call, is taking the Zoom meeting seriously, but the rest of her friends see it as just harmless fun.

The call does start off innocently enough, with the friends getting settled. However, at one point, something goes wrong and an evil spirit is invited in. As a result, all of the friends are put in danger.

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REVIEW: ‘Enola Holmes’ fails to entertain

Sherlock seems to always gets the spotlight in the Holmes family. This time, though, it’s shared with his siblings.

The result? It’s mixed.

The titular character in this film, played by Millie Bobby Brown, is the younger sister of the famous detective Sherlock (Henry Cavill). Enola, a teenager, has grown up in the countryside with her mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter). However, one morning Enola wakes up and her mother is missing.

In response, Enola’s brothers Sherlock and Mycroft (Sam Claflin) are called in to investigate the situation and look after her. Deciding she can manage on her own, though, Enola decides to go to London and figure out the situation by herself. During her trip to London, Enola meets Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), who’s dealing with his own family troubles.

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REVIEW: ‘Shortcut’ isn’t a satisfying horror genre entry

There’s no need to take a shortcut to the theater for “Shortcut,” because it’s not worth seeing at a cinema.

This thriller follows a group of teenage students riding on a bus in a rural area of the United Kingdom. Unfortunately the audience doesn’t get much background on the group, there are only five students which is odd for a field trip. Regardless, this is our crew of protagonists.

Things take a turn for the worse when the bus has to take a back road and, while stopping to move an obstacle out of the way, a criminal with a revolver comes aboard and holds the driver at gunpoint. That’s not the end of the main characters’ problems, though, as the eerie area they’re driving through also seems to be home to an evil creature.

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Taking a year off may be good for audiences

The new broke Wednesday that the Marvel film “Black Widow” has been delayed again, pushing back the studio’s whole superhero line up in the process.

The news is obviously a hit to theaters and Hollywood. There’s no doubt that Marvel and its all powerful umbrella company want their movies to hit theaters for the immediate success they bring.

This is true of course with all other movie studios that have had to make delays, too. Warner Bros. has had to consistently push back “Wonder Woman,” which has moved from mid-summer to Christmas. Universal, meanwhile, has shoved the next “Fast and Furious” film back a whole year to 2021.

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REVIEW: ‘Antebellum’ suffers from poor plot execution

There are good ideas and a more than capable cast in “Antebellum,” yet the film as a whole is, unfortunately, a mess.

The picture follows Eden (Janelle Monae), a Black woman who appears at first to be a slave during the 1800s at the height of the Civil War. The plantation she and others appear to be at is surrounded and controlled by a unit of Confederate soldiers.

As the film progresses, more truths are learned about the plantation and additional background is provided about who Eden is. With tensions building, Eden begins considering an escape plan.

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REVIEW: ‘Devil All the Time’ offers little more than gratuitous brutality

This movie isn’t for the faint of heart. However, even those who can handle more intense films can probably avoid “The Devil All the Time.”

The picture takes place in rural America, with settings in both Ohio and West Virginia. The movie centers mainly on Arvin (Tom Holland), a young man who grew up in a difficult environment and often has to look out for his surrogate family.

Along with Arvin, the film gives attention to several other characters, with many of them doing a plethora of awful acts. As the film progresses, these characters begin to cross paths.

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REVIEW: ‘Thinking of Ending Things’ is solid thought-provoking cinema

I’m thinking this is a pretty damn good movie, but understand not everyone will feel that way.

“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” largely focuses on two characters, Jake (Jesse Plemons) and his girlfriend, played by Jessie Buckley. The couple are on their way to meet Jake’s parents for the first time time, but are unfortunately having to drive through a snowstorm to get there.

As they make their way over the snowy highway, the audience gets to learn more about how Jake’s girlfriend is considering the future of their relationship. Meanwhile, the audience is also introduced concurrently with a janitor character, who has a relation to the main characters that’s slowly revealed over the course of the film.

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REVIEW: ‘Babysitter’ sequel is a disappointment

The first “Babysitter” certainly left things open for a sequel. Having watched part two, though, one wishes they left it at just one film.

“Killer Queen” starts two years after the first movie, and once again, Cole (Judah Lewis) is the main character. While he survived the deadly encounter from the first picture, though, and gained some confidence in the process, no one really believes him about what happened.

Now a high school student who doesn’t really fit in, Cole is having struggles, especially with no one trusting his word. He gets his chance to win over high school crowds, though, when he attends a lake party. Unfortunately, Cole soon finds out that some of his friends are in the same demonic cult that was featured in the first picture.

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REVIEW: Despite spectacle, ‘Mulan’ mostly stumbles

Trying to do two things at once can sometimes be pulled off, but it can also lead to a mess. This “Mulan” film is definitely a situation of the latter.

The film stars Yifei Liu as Mulan, a young woman who doesn’t exactly fit in at her community in rural China. Around the time that she’s getting forced to meet with a matchmaker, another area of China is being invaded by Rouran warriors, led by their commander Bori Khan (Jason Scott Lee) and magical witch, Xianniang (Li Gong).

In response, the Emperor (Jet Li) orders one man from each Chinese family to join the army to defend the nation. Mulan’s father is enlisted, but he has a permanent leg injury and already fought in a previous war. Knowing he would be in danger, Mulan decides to join the war in his place, disguising herself as a man in the process.

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REVIEW: Excessive techno-babble makes ‘Tenet’ tiresome

Having nearly three fourths of the dialogue in your movie be scientific terms and concepts doesn’t make your movie smart.

“Tenet” follows a character simply known as The Protagonist (John David Washington). A spy who appears to work for the American intelligence apparatus, Washington’s character is assigned a mission where he has to investigate weapons that defy time.

For example, the spy is shown bullets that are inverted, which means they move backwards in time. On his mission, the Protagonist is assisted by a helpful contact named Neil (Robert Pattinson). As the mission continues, the Protagonist discovers the main person associated with the weapons is Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh). To get close to the arms dealer, the agent begins speaking with Sator’s wife Kat (Elizabeth Debicki).

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