REVIEW: ‘The Way Back’ is enjoyable for fans of sports and cinema

Ben Affleck’s movie goes for the three point shot, at the buzzer, and… It’s not too bad.

While “The Way Back” prominently features basketball, it’s less a sports movie about basketball and much more about a man trying to pick up the pieces of his life. The movie follows Jack, a construction worker who was at one point an excellent basketball player in high school with a full ride to join the University of Kansas Jayhawks program.

His path in life took a different direction, though. The movie picks up with Jack now suffering from alcoholism after experiencing a personal hardship. He’s given a chance at escapism, though, when he’s hired by his high school to coach the basketball team midseason. Despite not having the best players, Jack’s coaching is effective and he’s able to help the team find success. Unfortunately, he still deals with drinking too much.

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REVIEW: ‘Onward’ offers a dull quest

This movie is all about magic, but doesn’t necessarily have that Pixar magic.

Tom Holland voices Ian in “Onward,” a young elf living in a world that, despite fantasy and magic elements existing, has become like our own modern society. A high schooler, Ian lives with his mom Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and his older brother Barley (Chris Pratt) who hasn’t exactly found his way in life.

Ian’s father Wilden passed away before he was born, something that weighs heavily on him. When he turns 16, though, he receives a staff for his birthday and finds a spell to bring back his dad for one day. He starts the spell, but is only able to bring his dad’s legs back. Knowing they only have a day, Ian and Barley decide to go on a quest to find a way to complete the spell.

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Movie Report: Film industry events canceled, delayed due to virus

Like other businesses, Hollywood isn’t immune to the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak.

More than 100,000 cases have been reported and over 3,800 people have died according to the World Health Organization. As a result, production work and events in the film industry has been impacted.

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REVIEW: Moss, special effects boost ‘Invisible Man’

No Dark Universe, no problem.

After the shared cinematic universe idea for Universal’s famous movie monsters crashed, plans were reworked to have more independent, individual films. The first one up is “The Invisible Man,” written and directed by Leigh Whannell. The movie stars Elisabeth Moss as Cecilia, a woman who just left her abusive boyfriend.

Cecilia is shaken from the relationship and is left with anxiety, fearing that her ex, Adrian, (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) will come after her. However, she soon learns that Adrian has supposedly committed suicide. Just as she begins trying to rebuild her life, though, Cecilia begins to feel stalked and terrorized by an unseen force, which she believes is Adrian.

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Monday Movie Report: ‘Uncharted’ cast grows with addition of Antonio Banderas

The cast for ‘Uncharted,” a film adaptation of a video game franchise, is growing.

According to Deadline, Antonio Banderas has been added to the cast of the film, along with Tati Gabrielle and Sophia Ali. The trio join a cast that already included Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg.

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REVIEW: ‘Call of the Wild’ hampered by split story, CG canine

In the 2019 “Lion King” I thought the computer animated animals didn’t emote enough. In this movie “Call of the Wild,” they might have done it too much.

This is the latest adaptation of a book of the same name about a big dog named Buck. As the films start, the dog is stolen from his home in California and sold to buyers in the Yukon.

From there, Buck goes on a series of adventures, which include becoming a sled dog to help deliver mail and later befriending a man named John (Harrison Ford) who lives in the region.

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Monday Movie Report: Cannes Film Fest to broaden VR program

The Marche du Film, the Cannes Film Festival’s business element, is preparing to expand its virtual reality program.

According to Variety, Cannes XR, the immersive and augmented reality content program, will have new elements this year. Variety reports Cannes XR has partnered with companies Positron and Brogent Technologies to bring in a new virtual reality theater, with dedicated space for competition.

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REVIEW: ‘Downhill’ enjoyable thanks to mix of drama, dark comedy

“Downhill,” aka, “Marriage Story: On Ice.”

This movie taking place at a ski resort in Austria follows a family of four on vacation. The family includes the parents Billie (Julia Louis Dreyfus) and Pete (Will Ferrell), and their two sons Finn (Julian Grey) and Emerson (Ammon Jacob Ford). The family appears to have some stress from vacation traveling, but seem to be ready for a pleasant trip in Europe.

However, the situation gets rocky when a controlled avalanche to provide more snow on the slopes causes a sequence of events that results in a rift between the married couple. The rest of the trip explores their drama as they navigate the rest of their vacation.

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In defense of ‘The King’s Speech’

A movie like “The King’s Speech” doesn’t seem like it needs someone to stand up for it.

Just a reminder, this is a film that won four Oscars, including Best Picture, seven British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, two Critics Choice Awards, a Director’s Guild of America award, a Golden Globe, two Screen Actors Guild awards and a Producers Guild of America award. It has a very full trophy case and everyone involved walked home happy

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REVIEW: Weak story trips ‘Sonic’

One doesn’t need to be as fast as Sonic to catch up on what’s happening in this rather predictable film.

The Sonic character, originally appearing in Sega video games, isn’t a stranger to the screen. There have been six animated series about the Blue Blur, including the 90s series “Sonic the Hedgehog” and the 00s show “Sonic X.” There was also the late 90s anime film, also titled “Sonic: The Hedgehog.”

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