Film

Alien: Romulus an effective return to form Obviously a student of the Alien franchise, writer/director Fede Alvarez has managed to do something that I thought was impossible – he’s delivered a worthy addition to the series, a feat that’s proved elusive for many filmmakers and one that proves to be an effective callback to the […]

Cast propels breezy Instigators There’s nothing particularly memorable, or for that matter, unique about Doug Liman’s The Instigators. Be that as it may, the film is not without its charm, provided primarily by the tremendously overqualified cast, all veterans who bring a sense of enthusiasm to this project that it doesn’t deserve. The result is […]

Music is the message in rollicking Kneecap While Curtis Hansons’ 8 Mile and Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting are obvious influences on Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap, there’s something far more important at play in this pseudo-biopic of the Irish rap group. The history of oppression at the hands of the English and the heritage of the country becomes central […]

Deadpool & Wolverine: More and more and more of the same thing There’s certainly no way to quantify this, but I’d be willing to bet there hasn’t been a more meta movie made than Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine. However, I’m quite sure there’s never been a film made distinctly in the name of fan […]

Woman a rousing tale of empowerment It was referred to as “The hardest test in all of sport.”  Only five men had succeeded in accomplishing the feat and 12 others had perished in their attempts. To describe the conditions surrounding this challenge as “brutal” would be a vast understatement, the weather everchanging and the temperatures […]

Moon an unexpectedly delightful throwback Greg Berlanti’s Fly Me to the Moon uses the conspiracy theory about the faked moon landing as the background for, of all things, a romantic comedy. Seems a stretch but it actually works. Thanks to a script that weaves together factual information, more than a bit of conjecture and palpable […]

Familiar ground covered in fun Axel F I’m pretty sure we didn’t need another Beverly Hills Cop movie, but that being said, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is about as good as we should expect under the circumstances. Taking a page from the Top Gun: Maverick playbook, director Mark Molloy and the three (?) writers […]

Ghostlight a sincere beacon of hope Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson’s Ghostlight is prime fodder for nitpickers. It has its narrative flaws, and I would be the first to admit that key moments would likely never happen.  And yet, I’m glad that I haven’t gotten so old and bitter that I take a hypercritical look […]

Inside Out 2 an imaginative, witty and insightful classic What has made the Pixar films the gold standard of modern animation is their ability to not only dazzle us with their imaginative visuals and tickle our funny bones with their unique characters, but their ability to push us toward introspection. Inside Out 2 achieves this […]

Powell shines in clever Hitman Directed by Richard Linklater, Hitman is an inspired-by-fact dark comedy that gives Glen Powell the opportunity to show his range and make the case he’s worthy of the great expectations surrounding him. Employing a wry tone from the start, we see meek professor Gary Johnson (Powell) thrown into a dangerous […]