Watch the SPOILER review on YouTube With great looking visuals and a strong concept, “Nope” is unable to live up to its lofty goals due to a disjointed narrative and characters that take too long to endear themselves to the audience. The plot is relatively simple, but there’s a strange execution to it, with chapter… Read More »
Watch the SPOILER review on YouTube Definitely a direct continuation of the first film rather than a sequel featuring the new adventures of the same characters, this movie uses the same tricks as Part 1 to create tense moments as the Abbott family attempts to survive a dangerous post-apocalyptic landscape. Things open strong, as we… Read More »
The follow up the horror classic “The Shining” trades in claustrophobic scares and masterful direction for violence and more traditional storytelling. First off, I’ve seen the original film and the miniseries, but never read either of the novels in the series. As far a sequel goes, and they primarily use the Kubrick film as their… Read More »
Overall enjoyable, the long-delayed sequel to “Zombieland” doesn’t bring much new to the table. The basic story is nothing special, just an excuse to get our characters from point A to point B. The plot would’ve benefited from more defined threats to give the whole thing a bit of urgency. The humor is much the… Read More »
An overall entertaining film that starts strong, but stumbles to the finish line. The opening moments give a taste about what works for this movie. There are strong levels of grittiness, tension and violence that keep you on edge. They also do a great job of establishing characters and giving them defining characteristics. And unlike… Read More »
A surprisingly uninspired reboot/sequel/addition to the “Halloween” franchise that never quite justifies its existence. The basics premise is that none of the sequels to the original “Halloween” ever happened. Nothing of interest has gone down since the original murders besides Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode going full Sarah Conners-mode and prepping for the day Michael… Read More »
An interesting concept, filled with many tension-filled sequences that will keep you on the edge of your seat. This is a smartly put together film that assumes the audience can fill in the blanks as to what’s taking place. There’s no exposition here. Only newspaper clippings and a few handwritten notes explain how things got… Read More »
A suspenseful (but not quite scary) movie that strongly adapts the first half of the classic Stephen King novel. I’ve never seen the miniseries adaption, so I can’t compare this film to that. However, many years ago I did read the book, and I do remember the gist of it. Unfortunately, this worked against my… Read More »
A bland entry to The Mummy franchise, salvaged by the star power of Tom Cruise…kind of. The overall plot is in line with “The Mummy” film from nearly two decades ago. The biggest changes here are the modern setting and the strained attempts to set up the “Dark Universal” monster team-up franchise. For the most… Read More »
After a slow start, things suddenly pick up before reaching a suspenseful, but familiar, climax. With the exception of one brief harrowing sequence, the fist portion of this film moves quite slow. While this would be the ideal time for character building, it’s used more for sci-fi imagery. Spacewalks, equipment checks, and tech talk are… Read More »