Film – Chuck Koplinski

On July 8, 2002, fate threw 17-year-old Brain Banks a curveball that would alter his life forever.  Falsely accused of rape, he was arrested and ultimately brought to trial as an adult.  On faulty advice from his lawyer, he accepted a plea bargain that would result in his serving six years in jail, five years […]

Surprisingly, there’s more than meets the eye in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, the first of what’s sure to be many spin-offs from the testosterone-fueled franchise. To be sure, there are plenty of car chases and enough things blown up real good to satisfy F & F fans, but there’s a sense of […]

Quentin Tarantino is our most seductive filmmaker.  His ability to frame and execute a scene with a crisp sense of vitality, his sharp-edged writing and the way in which he elicits primal performances from his cast have all become hallmarks of his work, elements that appeal to the many fans who are devotees to the […]

Casey Davies is a loner.  Not by choice, mind you.  The young man is socially awkward and has an unpopular job at the firm he works at – as the company’s accountant, he audits his co-workers expense reports.  He lives in a small apartment with his dachshund and seems, if not happy, secure in the […]

After having seen the trailer for Alejandro Aja’s Crawl, I realized this was the movie I had been for waiting all summer.  I never thought I would suffer from superhero film fatigue, but that certainly has set in. With all of the lackluster sequels and reboots I’ve been subjected to, this summer movie season has […]

You can tell that Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista like each other. They are very much at ease with one another, finish each other’s sentences and laugh at inside jokes while those around them stand amused at their genuine camaraderie.  This was all on display during a recent stopover in Chicago where they were promoting […]

I don’t mind leftovers.  Actually, some things are better the second time around.  I tend to like spaghetti and meatballs after it has sat in the fridge a day or two.  (I have no hard evidence to back this up, but I think the sauce is absorbed by the noodles as it sits, making it […]

There’s always been a sense of whimsy about the films of Richard Curtis.  Whether Love Actually or About Time, which he wrote and directed, or the many episodes of Blackadder and Mr. Bean he penned, he brings a light touch to his comedy as well as many sincerely romantic or poignant moments. Now comes Yesterday, […]

It’s a shame that Luc Besson’s Anna arrived in theaters under cover of night.  Lionsgate Pictures released it without previewing it to critics and with little in the way of promotion.  Besson was accused six months ago of sexual impropriety during the shooting of numerous films and, as a result, the studio didn’t want to […]

I was pretty sure the world didn’t need another Men in Black movie.  I’m sad to say that after sitting through the latest installment of the franchise, I now know I was right. 2019’s “Cinematic Summer of Blah” (copyright pending) continues with F. Gary Gray’s Men in Black: International, a film whose sell-by date is […]

“The women are always saving the men around here.  You may want to think about changing the name from X-Men to X-Women.” So says defiant X-Women herself, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) in Dark Phoenix, signaling that the #MeToo movement has come to the franchise as well as a couple other significant changes. The intentions of one […]