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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: A light, mildly entertaining remake of a darker, mildly entertaining 1979 comedy.

Sometimes it is refreshing when a movie is exactly what you expect. Going in Style, the remake of the 1979 George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg heist comedy of the same name, is exactly what you expect. Starring Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin, this 2017 update goes in a very different direction than the original. It’s more righteous and seemingly draws more influence from last year’s Hell or High Water than the original Going in Style, at times. Read More →

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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: Jessica Chastain is a phenomenal performer. The Zookeeper’s Wife is an emotional look at another story of courage and self-sacrifice during the Holocaust. It is likely to get lost amongst these films as many are great and this one is adequate. Did I mention Jessica Chastain is a phenomenal performer?

From the beginning, you realize The Zookeeper’s Wife isn’t going to always be easy to watch. However, for a film which details a heroic footnote to the widespread impact of the Holocaust during WWII, it often downplays the most depressing aspects of the story. It’s solemn nature also has a romantic and softer feel thanks to a strong lead performance from Jessica Chastain who portrays Antonina Zabinski, the titular character of the film. Read More →

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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: Visually, Ghost in the Shell is pretty damn impressive. Too bad the story isn’t the same as it feels like an overproduced facsimile of the source material.

Call me insensitive. I was never overly affected by whitewashing in films. It could because I’m white and suffer from white privilege as much as the next white guy or girl. After watching Ghost in the Shell, though, you can call me woke. Full disclosure: I love Scarlett Johansson on the big screen. She’s one of my favorite actresses. This probably explains more of why I wasn’t bothered by the choice of Johansson to play the main character of the live action version of the immensely popular 1995 Japanese animation of the same name (not to mention the original manga which actually launched the concept.). However, seeing Johansson in the main role, two thoughts consistently entered my head: (1) Johansson gives an excellent performance and (2) she’s completely wrong for the part.Read More →

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In: 2017, Ranked, Trailers

Looking through the lineup of theatrical releases in April, I miss March and can’t wait until May. Of the 28 potential releases, only 4 are worth going out your way for with The Fate of the Furious (likely to be April’s biggest box office earner) coming in at #5. Here’s the list of films coming out in April:Read More →

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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: The only thing disappointing about Power Rangers is that I was completely ready to write, “No, no Power Rangers!” as the Hot Take. Then I watched it and I actually enjoyed it!

Rarely are reboots something I look forward to. Power Rangers was not the exception to the rule. If you ever caught a glimpse of the ’90s live action TV show, you’d expect this reboot to be nothing more than a cash grab. However, Power Rangers delivers something unexpected. No, not just because it doesn’t suck. Director Dean Israelite and writer John Gatins take the cheesy concept of the ’90s show and update it by serving up meatier characters and then glazing them with the cheese of the show but without ever fully losing its new identity. It’s weird to say it but Power Rangers is done well enough that its opening box office numbers and the thought of its inevitable sequel don’t make me cringe. That’s actually saying a lot.Read More →

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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: There’s enough of Gravity and Alien here that Life has a hard time standing on its own. There’s more positives than negatives though which makes Life a decent Sci-Fi horror flick.

You’ve seen Life before. Some people won’t get past the fact that the plot is so similar to Alien and borrows more than it should from Gravity. That’s a shame because Life is an adequate Sci-Fi horror/thriller. If you dismiss Life solely on these obvious glaring issues, you’ll miss some very good performances from a committed cast, sleek visuals and a suspenseful build up to a huge third act payoff.Read More →

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In: 2017, Ranked, Weigh In

It took 16 days longer to reach 25 movies in 2017 than in 2016. I’m blaming the flu. Per previous milestones, it’s now time to reveal the grades (from 0 to 5 stars) for the first batch of movies watched in 2017. Last year, there were 3 movies — Zootopia, The Witch and Deadpool — with 4 stars or more but only 1 — Logan — in 2017. Only 7 films received a Thumbs Up last year, though. This year 10 movies graded out to a Thumbs Up and none (not even Rings) received 0 stars. Here are the first batch of grades of 2017:Read More →

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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: If you’re looking for a throwback to the old series, move along. If you’re looking for a crude, awkward, inappropriate, sexist, occasionally hilarious and completely silly premise based on characters from an old TV show, CHiPs might work for you.

Having not been someone who has seen an entire episode of CHiPs, it might be unfair for me to dismiss the new movie based on the TV show that ran from 1977-1983 as completely unlike the original show outside of the name of the two main characters and their job as members of the California Highway Patrol. However, as the central plot revolves around dirty cops and Francis Llewellyn “Ponch” Poncherello being an undercover FBI agent and his partner Jon Baker being the youngest rookie on the California Highway Patrol and a former X Games competitor, you can start to see where the movie veers away from the show. When you add in the central themes of the jokes of the movie — sex addiction, homophobia, dick bumping and other assorted dick jokes, analingus and constipation (among other inappropriate and crude jokes) — you get a clearer picture of how quickly this film took the off-ramp from a more nostalgic look at the show that ran 6 seasons and trotted out a reunion TV movie in 1998.Read More →

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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: Sometimes you see a movie that was a novel and think, “Maybe this should have stayed a novel.” Meandering and pretentious with a mysterious subplot that isn’t all that mysterious… or interesting.

When you read this review, you’re going to get the sense that I hated The Sense of an Ending. I didn’t. However, it’s so easy to be critical of this highly recognized novel adapted into a largely unseen box office curmudgeon which has grossed under $1 million through two weekends in limited release that this review is going to come across as vitriolic when it’s more of disappointment of a film that felt like it could have been better but settled for being okay.Read More →

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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: The entertaining escapism of a B-movie creature feature is enhanced by an A-list cast and AA-sized budget. It is what it is but it at least doesn’t try to be something it isn’t.

Usually, movies like Kong: Skull Island are reserved for the summer. Seeing a March release date with a cast featuring Academy Award winner Brie Larson, Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson and other reliable talent — Tom Hiddleston, John Goodman, John C. Reilly — as well as some newer faces who have impressed recently — Jing Tian (the only thing good about The Great Wall), Jason Mitchell (breakout performance in Straight Outta Compton as Eazy-E) — makes it easy to get your hopes up for something a little deeper than a creature feature continuation of the King Kong mythology. Hopes may end up being dashed for something more but the talented cast and solid casting do enhance the end result and putting this in March gives this popcorn flick the opportunity to own March rather than getting lost amongst all of the other popcorn flicks we’ll get in the summer months.Read More →