Category: Reviews

REVIEW: ‘Richard Jewell’ is a strong entry in Eastwood’s filmography

News travels fast, and unfortunately it can lead to mishaps, mistakes and early announcements that are later debunked. That’s exactly what happened in “Richard Jewell,” and an innocent person was forced to deal with the negative results.

The movie follows the story of the title character, played here by Paul Walter Hauser. After some introduction scenes, the movie picks up with Jewell working security for AT&T events at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Jewell aspires to one day have a steady job in law enforcement, so he takes his work very seriously, much more so even than his colleagues in the security business. While he receives some jokes about his commitment to a seemingly safe concert area, his concerns, unfortunately, turn out to be valid.

One night during his shift, he comes across a suspicious backpack that happens to contain an explosive device that had been left there by a terrorist. The film captures the moment the bomb goes off after its discovery and how Jewell was initially seen as a hero for calling it in and reporting it to officers.

Sadly, as history tells us, Jewell was then made a suspect by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a media firestorm erupts. In an effort to defend himself, Jewell hires a friend and lawyer from a former job, Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell) and tries to survive as his life is investigated.

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REVIEW: Older characters make ‘Jumanji’ sequel a whole bunch of fun

Danny DeVito is a national treasure, so his presence alone gives this “Jumanji” sequel a boost.

“Jumanji: The Next Level,” also known as “Jumanji III” to those of us who like numbered sequels, carries on the stories of Bethany (Madison Iseman), Martha (Morgan Turner), Anthony, who goes by nickname Fridge (Ser’Darius Blain) and Spencer (Alex Wolff). The four remained friends after the events of the last “Jumanji” and are planning to meet up during their winter college break over the Christmas season.

Spencer, though, has had trouble adjusting to life at college and away from his friends. His long distance relationship with Martha has also been strained. As a result, Spencer decides to take a risk and enter the dangerous Jumanji video game again. When his trio of friends come looking for him, since he didn’t attend their meetup, they also reluctantly try to join him in the game.

This time, though, they end up bringing Spencer’s grandfather Eddie (DeVito) and Eddie’s former business partner Milo (Danny Glover). Once again the protagonists take the form of in game characters Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), Sheldon Oberon (Jack Black), Franklin Finbar (Kevin Hart) and Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan), along with a few new allies, and this time they must go on a rescue mission through the dangerous game.

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REVIEW: Strong lead performance doesn’t sustain ‘Harriet’ biopic

The story of Harriet Tubman deserves to be told in an award caliber, fantastic movie. Unfortunately, this isn’t it.

As the title implies, the film follows the adult life of Tubman. Beginning with her time as a slave, the movie introduces the protagonist as Araminta, or Minty as she’s been nicknamed.

After finding out her slave owner won’t free her based on a previous agreement, Araminta opts to leave her current life behind and escape north. Her journey is dangerous and filled with hardship, but eventually, she crosses into the free state of Pennsylvania and finds her way to Philadelphia, where an anti-slavery organization is headquartered.

Upon her arrival, she’s able to choose a new name, and she selects Harriet Tubman. In the ensuing days, Tubman finds employment, a home and a free life. However, knowing that her family and others are still in the slave system of the south, she decides to help them come north. As history tells us, Tubman succeeded and continued her efforts, freeing more slaves from the south. Her work in doing so is shown on screen here.

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REVIEW: To its detriment, ‘Black Christmas’ is more concerned with themes than thrills

I wasn’t expecting any other movie this year to give “After” a run for its money as the worst film to be set on a college campus in 2019, but here we are.

This is the second time “Black Christmas” has been remade, with the other coming out in 2006 and the original having been released in the 1970s.

In this film, the main characters are college students and members of a sorority. The leads include Riley (Imogen Poots), Kris (Aleyse Shannon), Marty (Lily Donoghue) and Jesse (Brittany O’Grady). The four are preparing for the Christmas holiday, but Riley is struggling with her life after having been raped by a fraternity member. Making matters worse is the fact that her story wasn’t believed by law enforcement.

Riley’s Christmas season only goes downhill more, when she begins noticing disappearances on campus. Eventually, her and her friends learn that the female students on campus are being killed and they become the next target. As they try to survive, they also unravel what’s really going on and the truth has a connection to the school’s founding.

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REVIEW: Film art legends deliver a powerful American odyssey

Now, we all know Jimmy Hoffa’s body was taken from beneath a stadium into a UFO by aliens, but I suppose it’s worth checking out what this film’s take is on what happened.

“The Irishman” refers to a nickname given to Frank Sheeran, played here by Robert De Niro. At the start of Director Martin Scorsese’s latest feature film, Sheeran is working as a truck driver in Philadelphia, who delivers meat and earns an honest living. However, after some time, he begins making some shipments to a local gangster, and from there he gets involved with mob boss Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci). Sheeran begins doing jobs for Russell and eventually becomes an enforcer for the crime syndicate.

Eventually, because of the ties between certain organized crime factions and some unions, Frank comes into contact with Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). The powerful Teamsters President takes a liking to Frank and eventually the two start working together. The work he does, though, is deadly and corrupt. As a result Frank’s life never really settles down.

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REVIEW: Despite great potential, ‘Waves’ sinks because of story execution issues

When there are waves, it usually means the waters aren’t calm, and that certainly becomes the case in this movie.

Directed by Trey Edward Shults, “Waves” is a film taking place in south Florida that follows a family of four. More specifically, though, the movie centers on the son, Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Tyler, at the movie’s onset, has a lot going for him. He’s a star athlete in the midst of the wrestling season, he has a loving family and he’s in a good relationship with his girlfriend.

However, as the movie gets going, cracks begin to form in Tyler’s life and these cracks eventually lead to the proverbial dam breaking. The film follows the issues the family goes through in the events that follow.

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REVIEW: ‘Dark Waters’ is a compelling journey into the depths of corporate greed

Actor Mark Ruffalo trades in his green look for a nice suit in his latest film.

In “Dark Waters,” Ruffalo plays Robert Bilott, a corporate defense attorney who works at an office in Cincinnati. At the movie’s beginning, Bilott and the firm he works for has established a solid working relationship with the DuPont company. That good working relationship begins to strain, though, when Bilott meets with a farmer in West Virginia, based on a referral from a family member, and uncovers an environmental disaster threatening livestock.

Upon the discovery, Bilott launches a case against the DuPont company with the hope that he can win a lawsuit and help the farmer, Wilbur (Bill Camp). However, the lawyer uncovers more and more details about DuPont’s “forever” chemicals and learns that the environmental disaster is much worse than initially thought.

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REVIEW: Driver’s lead performance powers ‘The Report’

One of the darkest periods of recent American history comes to light in rather convincing fashion in “The Report.”

The movie stars Adam Driver as Daniel Jones, a staff worker for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (Annette Bening) office, who’s tasked with scoping out the Central Intelligence Agency’s enhanced interrogation program and filing a report that can be made public. Over the course of several years, Jones uncovers much of the CIA’s torture program and brings his findings back to Feinstein.

However, the process isn’t made all too easy because of senior leadership in the CIA, who want to keep the program that was used in the years after Sept. 11 classified. The movie tracks Jones’ efforts as he tries to get the report out, and navigate the politics in the process.

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REVIEW: ’21 Bridges’ isn’t sensational, but it is streamable

The characters didn’t go to all 21 bridges. 1 out of 5.

Just kidding, kind of.

This film is a sophomore feature effort by director Brian Kirk, who in the past helmed 2006’s “Middletown.” His latest film stars Chadwick Boseman as Andre Davis, a detective with roughly a decade of experience with the New York City Police Department. While he’s a good detective, though, he’s also gained a negative reputation of being too quick on the trigger.

His expertise is called upon, though, when a drug incident turns into a blood bath, with several police officers dead and the two responsible going on the run. To capture the two and bring them to justice, Andre and another investigator, Frankie Burns (Sienna Miller) launch a city-wide manhunt and shut down all 21 bridges out of New York.

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REVIEW: This ‘Day in the Neighborhood’ is just OK

In back-to-back years, audiences have been treated to two films about the well known children’s television icon Fred Rogers. After watching both, “Won’t You Be my Neighbor” from 2018 is the clear winner.

In the other film of the two, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” Matthew Rhys stars as Lloyd Vogel. An Esquire magazine reporter, Vogel carries a reputation as a very thorough journalist, often upsetting sources for his commitment to telling the truth and holding people accountable. The movie picks up with him being assigned a lighter piece, though, as he’s told to write a story about Mr. Rogers (Tom Hanks), and explore why he’s a hero to people.

Considering it’s more of a fluff profile than a hard hitting piece, Vogel isn’t too thrilled with the assignment. Plus his personal life has hit a rough patch as he’s a new parent who still has some anxieties about being a dad, and his relationship with his own father is poor. Meeting Mr. Rogers, though, begins to change him.

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