Category Archives: Reviews
REVIEW: JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM delivers visceral thrills and rich world-building worthy of the franchise.
Posted by Victor Moreno
John Wick 3 continues the tradition of epic world-building and spectacular stunt-driven setpieces established in previous films in the franchise while delivering a highly serialized third entry into its pantheon. John Wick 3 picks up exactly where John Wick 2
FILM REVIEW: LIFE LIKE subverts expectations and delivers human drama about the nature of one’s insecurities.
Posted by Victor Moreno
While initially appearing to be a film in the mold of Ex Machina that teases the fine line between humanity and A.I., Life Like instead delivers a look at the void of ennui in modern life. When I first started
FILM REVIEW: ALL THAT WE DESTROY is an interesting modern take on the Frankenstein mythos.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Blumhouse’s film anthology series on Hulu ‘Into the Dark’ serves up a new entry that may seem similar to Happy Death Day on the surface but bears more of it’s DNA from Mary Shelley’s classic horror tale. Hulu and Blumhouse’s
FILM REVIEW: POKEMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU is this generation’s answer to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Posted by Victor Moreno
With a generation weaned on the cartoons and various video and trading card games featuring Pokemon, their first live-action film appearance transcends their mythology in a noir-inspired mystery that engages non-fans and fans alike. There’s something to be said when
FILM REVIEW: Under The Silver Lake is a Lynchian neo-noir love letter to Los Angeles & the Hollywood Dream that loses it’s way.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Ambitious & slickly made with a tour-de-force performance by Andrew Garfield, Under the Silver Lake ultimately bloats by not knowing where to stop or what to really say. There’s something to be said for having an audacious and personal second
FILM REVIEW: Avengers: Endgame provides a rich and satisfying conclusion to the Infinity Stone Saga.
Posted by Victor Moreno
The saga of Marvel’s superheroic quest for the Infinity Stones over 20 films comes to an emotionally charged close in the Russo brothers’ highly anticipated sequel to Avengers: Infinity War. Back in 2008, that year’s most highly anticipated film was
FILM REVIEW: ‘Shazam!’ is a Standalone Family Comedy Superhero Film. And That’s Weirdly Refreshing.
Posted by Joshua T. Ruth
As we see comic book blockbuster tentpoles break records, it’s easy to forget that Hollywood was afraid of superheroes for long time. We would get one occasionally, and they were often great (Donner’s ‘Superman’ films, Burton’s ‘Batmans’) which made it
FILM REVIEW: Dumbo stumbles but ultimately takes flight as Tim Burton’s best film in years.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Tim Burton crafts an interestingly subversive tale of a unique creation taken in by big business that requires outsiders to free it so it can reach its full potential away from a heavy-handed creative monopoly. When Dumbo hits theaters this
FILM REVIEW: Jordan Peele’s ‘Us’ is Almost a Masterpiece
Posted by Joshua T. Ruth
This review is broken into non-spoiler and spoiler portions. Jordan Peele’s second film after the critical and box-office success of ‘Get Out’ is a fiendish screamer with a fair amount of imperfection. It is a total blast and seeing it with a
FILM REVIEW: Captain Marvel aims to lay heavy foundation for next phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe at the expense of a compelling origin tale.
Posted by Victor Moreno
If there’s a lesson to be learned from the now 20 plus films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, its that the films which succeed the most as standalone films are those with a compelling cast of characters that actually feel
FILM REVIEW: The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot is a Melancholy Examination of what makes a man versus a myth
Posted by Victor Moreno
When I was a kid growing up, folk tales were something that you’d hear about growing up, especially those about folk heroes like Paul Bunyan or John Henry. These were characters that were larger than life myths who raged against
FILM REVIEW: FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY wrestles with heart and determination in finding how far you’ll fight for your dream
Posted by Victor Moreno
There’s a certain love affair that filmmakers have with the concept of pro-wrestling; this passion play of competition that shares much in common with the catharsis of Greek theater by way of the unending battles of principle found in a
FILM REVIEW: ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ is a Cyberpunk Techno-Marvel with Real Heart
Posted by Joshua T. Ruth
‘Alita: Battle Angel’ does something remarkable. It is an eye-popping showcase for cutting-edge special effects without falling into the trap of dodgy writing and sub-par acting. Its biggest success however is finally showing the powerful potential of Anime and Manga being
FILM REVIEW: The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is a rare sequel that improves on its original
Posted by Victor Moreno
If you would’ve told me back in 2014 that one of the year’s best films would be a licensed animated cartoon based on LEGO construction block toys of most people’s youth, it would’ve been a hard sell. Licensed animated films
