Tag: Review

REVIEW: Lee’s ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ succeeds largely on cast, style

Denzel Washington’s son gets kidnapped in this movie, and here, he doesn’t have his Equalizer skills to rely on for a rescue.

In the film, based on 1963’s “High and Low” by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, Washington stars as David King. A music mogul, King is head of a major label and has built a reputation of having the best ears in the business. Eventually, his status draws the attention of a kidnapper, who abducts his son.

In the process, the abductor also kidnapped the son of one of King’s workers and friends, Paul (Jeffrey Wright). The man who committed the crime demands ransom, and in a flash, young lives, millions of dollars and his music empire are at stake.

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REVIEW: ‘Nobody 2’ entertains, but lacks spark of original

He may play a nobody, but Bob Odenkirk has become quite the action star with these two flicks.

Odenkirk once again stars as Hutch, a normal guy who appears to be a simple suburban family man, but actually has a lengthy past as an elite government operative. He’s returned to that line of work after some time away, while still trying to keep up his family life in a good place.

Unfortunately, like in the first movie, Hutch has found himself to be in somewhat of a rut. Looking for a way to spend more time with his family and reconnect, he decides to take a vacation to a water park he went to in his youth. However, like usual, danger seems to follow him around.

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REVIEW: ‘Weapons’ builds tension well, but loses way in second half

After writing and directing 2022’s “Barbarian,” Zach Cregger is back with another suspenseful flick that will keep you guessing.

His latest picture is “Weapons,” which centers on the mysterious disappearance of 17 children from their homes in the middle of the night. The children were all from the same classroom at a school in a small Pennsylvania town, and there are no leads to their whereabouts, other than that they all left at the same time.

The situation puts a negative light on the teacher of the class, Justine (Julia Garner), who much of the town puts some blame on for the disappearance. As Justine struggles with the situation, the film explores what she goes through, and how the incident is impacting other citizens as well.

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REVIEW: ‘Freakier Friday’ suffers from repetition but charms with heart

The first “Freaky Friday” isn’t that old, right? It’s only been… 22 years?!

Yes, that film with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan was released more than two decades ago, and now, we get the sequel. Both actresses return for the follow-up, with Lohan again playing Anna, who now has a daughter of her own, Harper (Julia Butters). Curtis, meanwhile, is back as the helpful grandma, Tess.

The movie picks up with Anna having met a new love interest in Eric (Manny Jacinto), and after a courtship, the two decide to get married. That’s much to the chagrin of Harper and Eric’s daughter, Lily (Sophia Hammons), as the two future siblings don’t get along. Things only get more complicated when the four women in the family all switch bodies at a pre-wedding party.

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REVIEW: ‘Sorry, Baby’ is a stirring dramatic debut from Eva Victor

“Sorry, Baby” is a film told in a non-linear fashion, and it’s fitting, as dealing with awful situations life throws at you is never a straightforward process.

In addition to writing and directing duties, Eva Victor also stars in this picture as Agnes. In the movie’s opening, the audience learns that Agnes is a college literature professor teaching at her alma mater. Early in the film, Agnes appears to be getting on with life as well as she can, but also seems to be dealing with some turmoil.

The picture then digs into her past, showing previous years, and it’s revealed that Agnes was sexually assaulted while in college. The movie explores how in the time after, she tried to move forward both on her own and in communicating with others.

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REVIEW: First step for ‘Fantastic Four’ is fine, but not phenomenal

A “Fantastic Four” movie where Dr. Doom isn’t the main antagonist? That’s allowed?

Apparently it is, because good ole Victor isn’t the big bad of “First Steps.” Instead, the family of heroes including Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), his wife Sue (Vanessa Kirby), brother-in-law Johnny (Joseph Quinn), and colleague Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) face something from the depths of space.

Having picked up their powers a few years ago, the four have become celebrities, known for their contribution to science and several heroic moments. Things are going well, but that’s about to change. In addition to Sue getting pregnant with a potentially super-powered child, a planet-eating threat known as Galactus is on its way to Earth.

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REVIEW: Ari Aster’s ‘Eddington’ is absolutely abysmal

This year’s slate from A24 has been unsatisfactory so far, to say the least.

The latest movie from the studio, which has released many films that have populated my top 10 lists over the last decade, is set in 2020, a year we all remember but would rather forget. As the name implies, the picture is set in the town of Eddington, New Mexico where a mayoral race is underway.

The favorite is incumbent Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), but he soon gets a challenge from the county sheriff, Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix). In addition to being at odds already with Garcia for past issues, Cross is motivated to run by his many disagreements with the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Eventually, the race starts to turn ugly.

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REVIEW: ‘Sovereign’ is an intense look at extremism on the human psyche

One of the more dangerous movements in America over the last few decades gets explored in great detail during this new drama.

Christian Swegal makes his feature directorial debut with this film, centering on the real story of Jerry Kane (Nick Offerman) and his son Joe (Jacob Tremblay). Jerry was well known in circles of the sovereign citizen movement for his speeches about his interpretation of American law and home ownership rights.

His perception of power that the American government has, and his disregard for the operations of law enforcement and courts, leads to a growing tension with authority. That eventually leads to a fateful 2010 run in with police in West Memphis.

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REVIEW: ‘Superman’ loses shine due to clumsy story, despite dedicated cast

About 15 years after his first go round in the genre with 2010’s dark comedy “Super,” James Gunn presents his latest film featuring the most well-known hero around.

Yes, the Man of Steel is back on the big screen. It’s a new era for DC heroes in cinema, with the Extended Universe in the rearview, ending with an Atlantean chomping on a cockroach-topped burger. Now, we have a whole new universe, where Superman and other heroes are well established in society.

Things aren’t going well for Supes lately, though, as public perception has been turning against him recently for his independent involvement in a geopolitical conflict involving a U.S. ally. As Clark (David Corenswet) navigates the situation and his romantic relationship with co-worker Lois Lane (Rachel Brosahan), he also has to deal with the latest plot from Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult).

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REVIEW: ‘My Dead Friend Zoe’ doesn’t commit to its bit, to its detriment

The war movie genre benefits overall from films that show the impacts of foreign conflicts back home. This is one of those films, but unfortunately, it’s not one of the category’s best.

“My Dead Friend Zoe” centers on U.S. Army veteran Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green), who’s back home in the United States after serving in Afghanistan. Lately, life has been hard for her, as she’s run into some trouble with the law, and forced to attend group therapy sessions because of trauma, though she can’t bring herself to speak about her experiences.

That trauma revolves around her friend Zoe, who passed away. However, she still sees Zoe often as a ghost who she speaks with regularly. Her life only gets more complicated when she is asked to take care of her estranged grandfather who has early Alzheimer’s. Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘My Dead Friend Zoe’ doesn’t commit to its bit, to its detriment”