Category: Reviews

REVIEW: ‘Show Dogs’ is a passionless canine caper

I don’t know if anyone was asking for a version of “Miss Congeniality” with dogs, but it was made anyway.

“Show Dogs” tells the story of Max, a Rottweiler voiced by Chris “Ludacris” Bridges who works as a police dog in New York City. The film picks up with him working on a case of panda theft. I know, stick with me. So, because of the case, Max has to team up with an FBI agent named Frank (Will Arnett) to go undercover at a dog show.

So, the dog and dude duo set out to Las Vegas for a prestigious dog show where they suspect the panda thieves will be. While there, Max meets some new friends and discovers that dog shows are more meaningful than he first thought.

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REVIEW: ‘Deadpool 2’ is a blast thanks to its relentless comedy

“Deadpool 2” is a lot like its predecessor. It’s very funny, but is at times shallow and carries its share of flaws.

The film sets off with Deadpool, AKA Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) now living a fairly comfortable life, working as a mercenary and living with his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). Following a disastrous series of events, though, Wilson finds himself without the love of his life and in prison with only a young fire-powered mutant named Russell (Julian Dennison) as company.

Wilson’s problems only increase when a new foe named Cable (Josh Brolin) emerges. Cable soon reveals that his goal is to kill Russell, and Deadpool sets out to stop him.

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REVIEW: ‘Life of the Party’

Melissa McCarthy is a talented individual but there’s no doubt her track record with movies hasn’t been perfect. As a result, there is only cautious optimism when I walk into one of her features, such as “Life of the Party.” Fortunately, this one was actually a pleasant surprise.

McCarthy’s latest starring role is playing Deanna, a housewife who didn’t finish her college degree and is suddenly met with divorce papers from her husband. As she weighs her options, Deanna sees this life-changing event as an opportunity to go back to college and complete her archaeology degree.

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REVIEW: ‘Isle Of Dogs’ Is A Witty, Funny Stop-Motion Animation Venture

Nearly a decade after producing the stop-motion feature “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” Director Wes Anderson is back with another film using the same animation style, this time with “Isle of Dogs.” Like his previous animated feature as well as his other live action films, Anderson adds his own flair in both the visuals and writing.

“Isle of Dogs” takes place in a completely fantastical world. The movie is set in the city of Megasaki, located in Japan. The city seems to be a thriving metropolis except for one problem, the canines living there are infected with “dog flu” and have become a nuisance for their owners.

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REVIEW: Third ‘Avengers’ Is A Stunningly Well Made Feature

In 2012, the folks behind Marvel managed to put together numerous superheroes in one film and made it all work in “The Avengers.” This time around, in “Infinity War,” they use a lot of that same formula on a much bigger scale and even though there’s so much more going on, it still fires on all cylinders.

The latest “Avengers” takes place directly after the events of last year’s movie “Thor: Ragnarok.” In fact, the opening of “Infinity War” was even teased in “Ragnarok.” We soon find out that Thor (Chris Hemsworth), along with his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) are under siege by the powerful character Thanos (Josh Brolin).

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REVIEW: ‘Super Troopers 2’ Sadly Doesn’t Live Up To Original

Look, I didn’t want to do this. I really enjoyed the original “Super Troopers,” I remember renting it on VHS and laughing through most of its runtime. But, unfortunately, this sequel is multiple levels of bad.

The film picks up years after the original, with the five lead characters all in new jobs after getting fired from the local Police Department for a constantly hinted at incident involving a celebrity. Their luck changes, though, when they’re informed that a section of Canada actually is part of the United States (Vermont more specifically) and they’re recruited into a new highway patrol unit.

The problem is the local Canadians aren’t taking too kindly to the new law enforcement unit. This is especially true for the area’s Canadian Mounted Police, which see the new officers as rivals.

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REVIEW: Clumsy Execution Of Premise, Weak Humor Sink ‘I Feel Pretty’

“I Feel Pretty” is the type of film that has good ideas and even a concept that could work, but unfortunately, the execution is really rough.

The film follows the character Renee (Amy Schumer), a woman who’s insecure and is having difficulty in both her career and love life. However, after a fall during an exercise routine, Renee wakes up with the belief that she’s suddenly become seemingly more beautiful than before. This is despite her appearance not changing.

As a result, Renee becomes significantly more confident than before and she has success in many aspects of her life, starting a relationship with a guy named Ethan (Rory Scovel) and advancing her career with a promotion.

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REVIEW: ‘Rampage’ As A Whole Isn’t Saved By Monster Spectacle

There are two aspects with “Rampage,” one is the giant monster battles and the other is everything else. The giant fights are entertaining, the rest is forgettable.

The story behind the giant monsters in “Rampage” starts in space. A shady corporation turns out to be doing biological experiments high above Earth and after something goes wrong, three canisters are dropped from a space station containing genetic altering substances. One of those canisters falls in a San Diego wildlife center, where the protagonist Davis (Dwayne Johnson) works. The canister comes in contact with a gorilla Davis works with, named George, and it ends up making the primate grow to a massive size.

The other canisters land in North America, too, and have the same effect on two other animals. Meanwhile the (basically outright evil) corporation decides to lure the animals to Chicago, meaning it’s up to Davis, a former employee of the corp., Kate (Naomie Harris) and a government agent named Harvey (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to stop them, as Davis has worked with George before.

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REVIEW: The Only Losers With ‘Truth Or Dare’ Are The Viewers

Was this whole movie a joke? Honestly, at points I thought it came across more like a comedy than a horror film.

As the title suggests, “Truth or Dare” revolves around the well known kids game. The film follows a group of college students, with a focus on one named Olivia (Lucy Hale). While on spring break in Mexico, they wind up getting cursed into playing a dangerous, haunted game of Truth or Dare.

They soon find out that if they respond with “Truth,” they have to reveal awful secrets, and if “Dare,” they have to do something immensely risky. If they refuse to do either, they will die.

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About REVIEW: ‘Blockers’ Is Funny As Both An Adult And Teen Movie

I’ve been burned by comedies before, by those that have been marketed to teens as well as the ones for adults. It was quite a pleasant surprise, then, that “Blockers” ended up being so good, having laughs come from both aspects.

The title should make the general concept here pretty apparent. The film takes place on prom night and follows three teen girls, Julie (Kathryn Newton), Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan) and Sam (Gideon Adlon). The three want to have a memorable prom experience, but their parents, Lisa (Leslie Mann), Mitchell (John Cena) and Hunter (Ike Barinholtz) are worried about them potentially having sex.

As a result, while the teens are having their own adventures at the prom parties, the trio of parents set off on a crazy mission to prevent any sexual activity from taking place.

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