Reviews
‘The First Wave’ Captures the Raw Emotion of New York City’s Early Response to the Pandemic (Review)
A courageous gut-punch. That's the best way to describe Matthew Heineman's recently released documentary The First Wave. We have been in the COVID-19 pandemic for over a year and nine months, so traveling back to March 2020 feels like a lifetime ago. Viewers will feel...
Jonathan Larson’s Legacy Lives on in High-Spirited ‘Tick, Tick…Boom!’ (Review)
Musicals can always draw people from a particular audience even if they’re not the biggest fans of the genre (myself included). For that to be possible, you need a hook within minutes of the studio logos appearing on screen. And that’s exactly what Tick, Tick…Boom!...
‘Belfast’ is a Nostalgic and Heartfelt Coming-Of-Age Crowdpleaser (Review)
From film versions of Shakespeare plays like Much Ado About Nothing and Henry V as well as adaptations of Agatha Christie novels Murder On The Orient Express and the upcoming Death on the Nile, to studio fare like Thor and the live-action Cinderella remake, Kenneth...
‘Eternals’ is Bleak, Bloated, and Massively Disappointing (Review)
No hyperboles are in the title for the review of this movie. As someone who is against clickbait, I only speak in truths. When you look at the cast and crew assembled for Eternals, it has the makings to be the best Marvel Studios project since Avengers: Endgame....
‘Last Night in Soho’ is a Creepy and Captivating Celebration of Italian Horror (Review)
Giallos are far from the most accessible horror subgenre; a lot of them are often sold as straightforward horror films but end up being slow-burn mysteries with little gore and suspense until the third act, while the journeys within them are populated with several...
‘Halloween Kills’ is a murky, unnecessary slaughterfest (Review)
The real villain in Halloween Kills isn’t Michael Myers; it’s a lack of common sense. The sleepy town of Haddonfield, Ill. appears to be devoid of it on Halloween night circa 2018, the night that Myers returned to his old stomping grounds three years ago in the very...
‘Maya And The Three’ Is An Epic Animated Triumph About The Marvels of Mesoamerica (Review)
In the ongoing push for more creators from diverse backgrounds in the film industry, one of the most prominent filmmakers in the world of animation has been Mexican writer-director Jorge R. Gutierrez, who first made waves on Nickelodeon with his cartoon series El...
‘Fauci’ is a noble attempt to add context to a hero (Review)
At a delicate moment during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci thought there was a chance he might die. No, it wasn’t because he found out he had the deadly virus that’s killed more than 4.5 million globally. It was because he opened the wrong envelope delivered...
Strong Performances Save ‘The Last Duel’ From Flaws In Its Script (Review)
Ever since his feature film directing debut in 1977, Ridley Scott has been a master of crafting the epic movie no matter the genre, from the Crusades-set Kingdom of Heaven and the Oscar-winning Gladiator set in ancient Rome to the sci-fi dystopia Blade Runner and...
‘The Rescue’ Dives into the Exhilarating Story that We Thought We Knew (Review)
When it comes to the stories that make the biggest headlines, we assume the big news outlets are reporting most of the information accurately. Thankfully, however, documentaries play a big role in developing the entire story from start to finish, making the stories we...
Gut-Punching ‘Mass’ Offers a Glimmer of Hope (Review)
Every year, more than a handful of nonfiction movies present topics on current-day issues. Most stick the landing, at the very least. But whether the stick with audiences much longer than just a few hours after their viewing, is a whole other story. This year’s movie...
‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ is a funky, junky course correction (Review)
The best thing about Venom: Let There Be Carnage is that Marvel-Cinematic-Universe-meg-producer Kevin Feige never would’ve allowed it to happen. Feige, the sovereign of superhero sameness, has made a career out of reforming the type of movie that this...