Tag: Review

REVIEW: Vampiric flick ‘Abigail’ is just average

Spring is apparently the new spooky season because this vampire flick is the latest in a string of horror releases over the last few weeks.

The most recent in the genre to hit theaters stars Melissa Barrera as Joey, one of six criminals looking to pull off a kidnapping for ransom. The job is to abduct a young ballet dancer, Abigail (Alisha Weir), who’s the daughter of a wealthy and powerful, but mysterious figure.

Others on the team include former detective Frank (Dan Stevens), a hacker in Sammy (Kathryn Newton), a getaway driver named Dean (Angus Cloud), weapons expert Rickles (Will Catlett) and a mob enforcer with Peter (Kevin Durand). However, what they don’t know is that they’ve kidnapped a vampire.

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REVIEW: ‘Civil War’ entertains but doesn’t quite captivate

If a fascist regime ever rises up in the U.S., rest assured Texas and California will put aside their differences and the 2005 Rose Bowl to take it down.

That at least is the interpretation of writer and director Alex Garland in his new film “Civil War.” The film picks up in the near future with California and Texas, known as the Western Forces, marching toward Washington to topple the dictatorial third-term president portrayed by Nick Offerman.

The film centers on Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst), an experienced photojournalist who’s been to several areas of conflict, and is now reporting on her country’s own inner turmoil. She’s joined by a Reuters reporter, a veteran journalist for the New York Times and a rookie photographer on the way from New York to D.C. to document the war’s ending.

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REVIEW: ‘Monkey Man’ has great action but mangled storytelling

There are plenty of primate movie titles this year it seems. March had “Kong x Godzilla,” April has “Monkey Man” and May brings “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.”

The middle film isn’t actually about a monkey, though. Instead, the film centers on the character Kid (Dev Patel), a young man living in Yatana, a fictional metropolis in India. Struggling to get by, he manages to earn money as a fighter in an underground boxing ring, where he dons an ape mask.

His true objective, though, is putting himself in a position where he can get revenge on those who destroyed his village and killed his mother. His main two targets are a corrupt guru (Makarand Deshpande) and a crooked police chief (Sikandar Kher). But pulling such a thing off is a difficult, dangerous task.

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REVIEW: Godzilla and Kong’s New Empire is off to a forgettable start

At this point these films might as well just cut the human characters out entirely, they were barely necessary here.

That’s because, as expected, the latest movie centers on the big monkey and giant lizard. The former, Mr. Kong, has made a home in the Hollow Earth, a space between the planet’s surface and core. Kong is living his life as the Hollow Earth’s de facto ruler, but is rather lonely as the only giant gorilla there.

That changes when he discovers several other massive apes live nearby, but they’re led by a tyrant hell-bent on conquest of the surface. Godzilla, who is becoming aware of this threat, is preparing in his own way. But it’s going to take both rivals to handle the antagonist.

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REVIEW: ‘Late Night With Devil’ is a solid spin on found footage horror

If this movie was real, I feel like the host would definitely be invited on Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell in the 90s to talk about his experience.

The film centers on Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian), the host of a late-night talk show. His series has its fans and is mostly well received, but always comes in second to the classic king of late-night, Johnny Carson. Stuck with declining ratings and a personal tragedy, Delroy is looking for a turnaround.

He decides he needs to do something big for the Halloween special of his show. The solution is inviting a teenage girl on his show who could possibly be possessed by a demon, among other guests. From there, what begins as a fun night of evening television turns into something terrifying.

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REVIEW: ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ is a fumbling follow-up

It’s time to take the Ghostbusters off the contacts list, they don’t need to be called again.

Set after the 2021 film “Afterlife,” “Frozen Empire” takes place in New York City in the present day with Egon Spengler’s daughter Callie (Carrie Coon) hunting ghosts with her kids Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), as well as her boyfriend Gary (Paul Rudd). Though successful, the four have also gotten into trouble with NYC leadership for property damage.

They get off with a warning, but are forced to leave Phoebe, still a teen, out of ghost catching. Meanwhile, former Ghostbuster Ray (Dan Aykroyd) is presented with an old family heirloom with a powerful entity inside. As the film goes on, situations with the characters begin happening that may release the entity.

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REVIEW: ‘Kung Fu Panda’ series crashes with fourth entry

More than a decade ago, it would be easy to call the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise a model movie series. That can’t be said anymore, with the latest sequel continuing a downward trend.

Set seemingly a year or two after the events of the third film, “Kung Fu Panda 4” finds the main character Po (Jack Black) keeping peace as the Dragon Warrior, but those days are ending. His master, Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), tells him that he needs to take on a new role, that of a spiritual leader.

Po is reluctant, though, with his identity closely tied to his kung fu skills. Before he can choose a successor, though, he decides to use his talents one last time on a mission to stop the evil Chameleon (Viola Davis) who’s driven by conquest, getting help from a stealthy burglar named Zhen (Awkwafina).

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REVIEW: ‘Dune’ sequel is an exceptional sci-fi epic

Add one more to the bandwagon, “Dune: Part Two” has won another person over to the franchise.

“Part Two” picks up not too long after the conclusion of the first film. Paul (Timothée Chalamet), heir to the now destroyed House Atreides, along with his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), are seeking refuge with the local inhabitants of the sand planet Arrakis.

Those inhabitants, the Fremen, are split on the newcomer, some trusting Paul and seeing him as a potential savior and others who are leery. He begins earning their trust, though, as he helps them fight against the ruthless House Harkonnen for control of Arrakis.

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REVIEW: Don’t take a ride with the ‘Drive-Away Dolls’

A person would think a film directed by one of the Coen brothers and featuring a talented cast would result in a good experience. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with “Drive-Away Dolls.”

Set in 1999, “Dolls” follows close friends Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Viswanathan), who’re on a road trip from Philadelphia to Florida. The journey south was originally just supposed to be Marian’s trip, but Jamie decided to tag along after breaking up with her girlfriend Sukie (Beanie Feldstein).

What should be a simple road trip with a few pit stops, though, turns into something much more dangerous when it turns out the two women rented a car meant to be used by organized crime. Inside the car, the protagonists find a mysterious brief case and a big piece of criminal evidence.

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REVIEW: ‘Madame Web’ is a woeful ‘Spider-Man’ spin-off

This film may be titled “Madame Web,” but the titular character barely gets to shine in her own movie.

Dakota Johnson stars as Cassie Webb in this new film set in 2003 with loose ties to the “Spider-Man” mythos. Webb is a paramedic in New York City in her 30s who grew up in foster care as her mom died in Peru studying a rare spider species.

The film picks up with Cassie as she begins to have visions of the future on a regular basis. Her most important vision comes when she sees three girls in danger of being attacked by a person with superhuman abilities. From there, she sets out to protect the girls who are destined to do heroic things in the future.

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