Movie Reviews

The sweet and lovable Capital One pitch-woman Jennifer Garner is anything but in the revenge tale “Peppermint.” What’s in your wallet? How about about a cachet of weapons and survival technique. Riley North turns from hard-working banker and multitasking mother and wife who transforms into a knife-wielding, gun-toting, hand-to-hand combat expert seeking justice against those responsible for her family’s death...

If you don’t mind a film which utilizes subtitles and dog growls to communicate, you will most likely enjoy “Alpha,” an enjoyable film sharing the timeless tale of the relationship between man and his best friend ... in this case, the earliest recorded relationship between man and beast...

A couple of late summer delights offer a very different approach to close out a summer movie cycle which was dominated at the box office by the action-packed superhero and science fiction blockbusters. First up, “Crazy Rich Asians,” a very predictable but sophisticated “dramedy” which overcomes it's obviously inevitable outcome (spoiler alert — the girl and the guy wind up together) with a solid crew of relative unknowns in a well-written tale rich with culture and enjoyable dialogue...

Mark Wahlberg’s newest action thriller, “Mile 22,” suffers from the dreaded post “Mission: Impossible” syndrome. Why they decided it would be good to release a covert ops film on the heals of one of this summer’s biggest covert ops fan successes — and arguably the best film in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise — is beyond me. And sadly it lacks by comparison...

If you’re in the mood for a little summer fun, you could do worse than “The Meg.” Not to be confused with Steven Spielberg’s classic ocean terror “Jaws,” “The Meg” takes a little more lighthearted approach to nature’s greatest eating machine. When Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham), a rescue diver, loses some of his team during a rescue attempt involving a damaged submarine stranded on an ocean floor, he leaves the game for good. ...

Based on a popular teen book series, “The Darkest Minds,” is a great story idea that didn’t quite measure up on the big screen. Call it a weak script or occasional acting issues, the tale just didn’t live up to what it could have been. Stealing a bit from the X-Men theme, a group of young people gifted with unique powers find themselves joining forces to stay alive and fight the persecution in a world which wants them serving as a tool of destruction or dead...

When a film series extends itself to six films, often times you find the source material a bit lacking. The series itself tends to get weaker the longer it wears on as characters become too familiar, the action seems lackluster and the plot lines more and more predictable...

Denzel Washington is back (I say that a lot — too many sequels) as former DIA agent Robert McCall in “Equalizer 2,” the second film in a series replicating a 1980s TV show about an older gentleman who assists people facing dangerous problems with dangerous people. ...

At one point in “Skyscraper,” the film’s hero, Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson), uses duct tape to wrap up his bruised, battered and bloody body, he utters the line of the film — with nobody around to hear it — “If duct tape can’t fix it, you’re not using enough duct tape.” Apparently director Rawson Marshall Thurber didn’t use enough duct tape because not even the go-to, reliable, silver adhesive strapping isn’t strong enough to hold Johnson’s latest action flick together...

You don’t necessarily need to be a follower of the Marvel superhero film series to enjoy “Ant Man and The Wasp,” but it helps a bit. The film, which is loaded with a few laugh out loud moments courtesy of star Paul Rudd as Scott Lang and Michael Pena as his ex-con friend, Luis, picks up nearly two years after Lang aka Ant Man’s involvement as a member of Team Cap in “Captain America: Civil War.” Now on house arrest for his role in the Germany airport Avengers versus Avengers showdown, Lang is prohibited from having any contact with any other super-powered individuals or his former partners, Dr. ...

The follow up to the 2015 sleeper hit “Sicario,” “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” targets issues troubling the U.S. southern border surrounding the drug trade and more specifically the human trade as drug cartels begin facilitating the personnel movement over the border, from poor Mexican families seeking a new start to terrorists attempting to enter America...

Based on a Pepsi commercial campaign which began six years ago, NBA superstar Kyrie Irving jumps back in the makeup chair then hits the basketball courts of New York teaching the “young bloods” how the game is supposed to be played, getting “buckets” and distributing knowledge about the game’s truths to those who will listen as “Uncle Drew.”...

The fifth installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” reinforces the need for this movie franchise to become extinct. The original idea of “Jurassic Park,” an eccentric billionaire funds an effort to create a theme park/zoo where the public can view genetically resurrected dinosaurs was a stretch, but made for good sci-fi fun. ...

Although infant Jack-Jack doesn’t say anything intelligible through the duration of “Incredibles 2,” he and his older brother Dash steal the spotlight from the rest of the super-powered Parr family in this long-awaited (14 years to be exact) sequel to the extremely popular animated tale...

In 30 years of playing tag, from childhood to adulthood, Jerry Pierce (Jeremy Renner) has never been tagged by his group of friends, and the four friends are determined to make sure he doesn’t retire from the game without being “it.” Such is the premise for the appropriately named “Tag,” based on the true story of a group of friends who have spent 23 years, dating back to their youth, playing a monthlong, annual game of tag. ...

In today’s world of “Anything you can do, I can do better,” this film had to be made. “Ocean’s 8” centers around Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), the younger sister of the “allegedly deceased Danny Ocean (George Clooney in the preceding “Ocean’s” trio of huge group heist films), who after being paroled in prison sets out to assemble a team to carry out a new heist...

Take George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg’s ocean-weather conflict tale “A Perfect Storm” and combine it with “Titanic” and you have the love story, stranded at sea film based on a true story — “Adrift.” A wandering 20-something, Tami (Shailene Woodley), traveling the world finds herself in Tahiti working at a seaside dock to generate some cash before she moves on. ...

The second stand alone “Star Wars” tale — or “solo” film (pun definitely intended) — “Solo: A Star Wars Story” gives us a peak at the the galaxy’s most beloved scoundrel Han Solo in his criminal formative years. We pick up the story with Han (Alden Ehrenreich) and his girlfriend, Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke), a pair of young 20-somethings trying to stay alive amidst the criminal underworld of Correlia. ...

Parents don’t be fooled, this isn’t a comic book film for the kids. Ryan Reynolds returns as Wade Wilson, aka the “Merc with the Mouth,” also known as Deadpool. And as the main character clearly states in the original film, “I’m no hero.” Back for “Deadpool 2,” the hitman for hire has gone international, taking his job list across the globe, taking out baddies for profit and making enemies worldwide before returning to his junky little apartment in New York City where the love of his life, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) waits for him. ...

Melissa McCarthy returns to the big screen as the “Life of the Party” delivering a few laughs playing a lovable housewife who finds herself dealing with a major life change which prompts her to return to college and I may have been the only guy in the theater to witness it...

Combine some stunts from Johnny Knoxville’s Jackass crew with the chicanery of TVs “Impractical Jokers” and the physical comedy of “The Three Stooges” and you have a sequel 17 years in the making ... and I’m not sure why. Having never seen the original “Super Troopers,” it’s hard for me to fathom why — nearly two decades later — those kooky producers, Broken Lizard Industries, decided we need a part two. Probably because they needed the work...

Ten years in the making, the creative force and money machine known as the "Marvel Universe" delivers in a big way with "Avengers: Infinity War." What started with the introduction of "Iron Man" all those years ago has built into the ultimate superhero showdown perfectly designed for the big screen. ...

Let me start off by saying I am not a fan of Amy Schumer’s stand-up act or her discontinued TV sketch show. I think she just goes out of her way for the gross out laughs. Now that I have that out of my system, I did enjoy her first movie vehicle, “Trainwreck,” a semiautobiographical peak into her life co-starring Bill Hader and NBA superstar LeBron James, who in my opinion stole the film...

What is a popcorn movie? It’s a movie where you grab your bucket of popcorn and favorite beverage then sit back, turn off your brain and just watch with little expectation. That’s “Rampage” in a nutshell. Another Hollywood production loosely based on a 1980s video game...

Just in time for prom season, a new raunchy adult comedy, produced by Seth Rogen among others, tackles what you would think would be every parent’s worst nightmare. A trio of virgin high school senior best friends who have grown up together make a pact to lose their virginity on prom night. Hey, wait a minute, we’ve seen this before. They made a whole series of films based on this concept — the “American Pie” series...

The inspiration behind the hit Christian song which launched faith-based band MercyMe to the top of the charts is the focus of this film, detailing the difficult childhood and rise to music industry success of the group’s lead singer Bart Millard. Millard (J. ...

Steven Spielberg returns to the sci-fi/fantasy realm for “Ready Player One” as both director and producer of the big screen adaptation of the popular novel by Ernest Cline who also co-wrote the screenplay. Spielberg’s hand is quite present both on the screen and in the film’s feel which creates a fun, action adventure set almost 30 years in the future...

In the aftermath of his appearance in “Captain America: Civil War,” during which T’Challa’s (Chadwick Boseman) father, T’Chaka (John Kani), king of Wakanda — a Third World country in Africa — was assassinated by someone disguised as the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), the son returns to his home country to assume his new mantel as king of the five tribes which make up Wakanda...

Legendary movie tough guy turned Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood brings the story to the screen about heroic actions of a trio of American childhood friends who find themselves on a train bound for Paris when a terrorist launches an armed attack on the passengers. ...

A battle scarred captain is ordered to escort a former adversary back to his tribal burial ground to die in “Hostiles,” a nice twist on the Western genre. Capt. Joe Blocker (Christian Bale) is a legendary member of the Calvary, tracking, killing and capturing Indians in the New Mexico region. After having rounded up the last of an escaped Apache family, he returns for Fort Berringer with his assembled troop and his captors...

Intense war action and a solid blend of acting help elevate this long-classified story of the “horse soldiers” involved in the United States first real counterstrike following the 9/11 attacks in “12 Strong.” The movie opens with a recently promoted Capt. ...

Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks share the spotlight as Katharine Graham, heiress who runs the Washington Post, and the paper’s hard charging editor in chief Ben Bradlee in “The Post.” Graham is a socialite who is thrust into the role of newspaper leadership after her husband — handpicked to run the paper by her father — commits suicide, leaving her to take over the operation. ...

This week we’re tackling a couple of films which are leaving theaters, but will soon show up available for rental or purchase. Should you rent then or make that purchase? Well. ... Our favorite acca-ladies are back together for what — based on the road this movie takes — will hopefully be the last of the musically gifted “Pitch Perfect” franchise...

Just a year after haggard Robin Williams emerged from a jungle adventure-based board game only to unleash wild animals and new threats on the unsuspecting neighborhood from which he first disappeared in the original “Jumanji” film, the discarded board game is discovered washed up on a beach in 1996 by a jogger. ...

Rather than going the live theater to big screen route, “The Greatest Showman” went straight from the printed page to the cinema — a rarity in musicals today. Now I’m curious if they will turn this grand film feature into a Broadway musical — and if they do, will they be able to lure Hugh Jackman to return to the live stage...

Never has a “Star Wars” film created so much controversy since the introduction of Jar Jar Binks in the prequels. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” the eighth installment in the “Star Wars” series is doing just that. (Just a side note to the “Star Wars” nerd-dom, don’t email me, I haven’t forgotten “Star Wars: Rogue One,” I’m just not counting it as part of the trilogy groupings)...

A distraught mother, rough Mildred Hayes (Frances McDomand), struggling in the aftermath of her teen daughter’s rape and violent death, turns up the heat on the small town law enforcement force when they have failed months later to bring the perpetrator to justice in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”...

Let me start off by saying, I was really looking forward to “Justice League.” I’m a huge Batman fan and after Gal Gadot’s portrayal of Wonder Woman proved that DC filmmakers could make a really, really good film, I had high hopes for this bringing together of the DC comics elite superhero team...

The co-dads are back in "Daddy's Home 2" and this time, they're getting together for the Christmas holiday. Brad (Will Ferrell) and Dusty (Mark Wahlberg) have settled into their respective roles in the respective families while trying to share responsibilities for Brad's stepchildren who also happen to be Dusty's natural children...

When it comes to murder mystery writers, there are few to rival Agatha Christie whose early 20th century works, regarded as classic treasurers today, still stand the test of time. Director and star Kenneth Branagh bring the 1934 novel, "Murder on the Orient Express" to the big screen in this most recent remake, putting together a great ensemble cast to share the tale of master investigator Hercule Poirot's (Branagh) race to discover a murderer aboard a train car on a cross-country trip...

Taking a page from its popular “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, Marvel decided to add a few more chuckles than normal to this third edition of the Thor storyline. Though the priority of “Thor: Ragnarok” is to prevent Ragnarok — translated to mean “the end of everything” — you wouldn’t necessarily get the seriousness of the situation from the wise-cracking vibe which permeates the two-plus-hour installment in growing Marvel cinema footprint...

Don’t let the headline fool you. “Only The Brave” has nothing to do with comic book heroes. There’s no Batman or Captain America — fictional characters wearing colorful uniforms ridding the world of bad guys — but there are heroes. Real heroes. “Only The Brave” details The Granite Mountain Hot Shots, firefighters who travel to serve on the front lines of wild fires in the state of Arizona and around the country. ...

With the immense popularity of the survival shows, "The Mountain Between Us," sounds like a good idea for an hour-long episode of "Naked and Afraid." Two complete strangers in the middle of nowhere with limited resources attempting to navigate a dangerous scenario in the wild. Only our two victims aren't nekkid and they certainly didn't volunteer for the experience...

It's the sequel science fiction fans have been waiting decades for. And that's not an overstatement. When the original Blade Runner hit screens in 1982, it's dark, throwback to the 1940s detective noir film style was splattered against a backdrop of futuristic downtowns where the cop, Deckard (Harrison Ford), was charged with running down a group of rogue replicants led by Rutger Hauer and Daryl Hannah. ...

Tom Cruise is back with his famous smile in tact as he tackles the role of expert pilot Barry Seal who was at the center of the late '70s and Reagan-era '80s rise of the Medellin Cartel and Iran-Contras conspiracy. Seal (Cruise), a TWA pilot in the late '70s is approached by Monty Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson), with the CIA and recruited to walk away from his job and serve his country flying reconnaissance missions over Central America. ...

Taking a tongue-in-cheek approach to the spy films, this sequel to the popular graphic novel turned film, “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” takes place a year after the original. With more over-the-top car chases, blended slow-motion fight sequences, entertaining villains and insane weaponry, Eggsy (Taron Egerton) is a year into his role as a Kingsman and is embracing the well-dressed spy persona while remaining very much himself...