REVIEW: Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a review of Mission: Impossible – Fallout – Directed by Christopher McQuarrie.

The first James Bond novel was published in 1953. Nine years later, Sean Connery first played the central character on the big screen. Since then we’ve seen twenty-five Eon Productions Bond-films. In those films, six different actors have played Agent 007 to varying success. So far, all spy franchises have lived in the shadow of Ian Fleming’s creation. Every actor who becomes a leading spy character has been compared to Connery, Moore, Brosnan, Craig, and so on and so forth. Continue reading “REVIEW: Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)”

REVIEW: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before — Directed by Susan Johnson.

The quality of Netflix ‘Original Films’ can be inconsistent. More often than not people associate Netflix with great television shows and a wide variety of straight-to-streaming Adam Sandler films. Sure, sometimes Netflix acquires great dramas, but, for the most part, their original film content has a bad reputation.

Interestingly, this year Netflix has started to release some genuinely entertaining romantic-comedies. First, there was the office romance set-up film appropriately titled Set It Up, and, now, they’ve released a young adult romance film that is sure to be a hit with its target audience. Continue reading “REVIEW: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)”

Black Panther’s Chances at the Oscars – Special Features #28

Last year — in one of the first Special Features-articles — I wrote about Wonder Woman‘s chances at the Oscars, and it was probably that article that made me confident that I could write these types of articles about pretty much any blockbuster film. So, today, I want to continue that trend by writing about another hugely popular superhero film that has broken many box office records and won the hearts of critics and audiences — Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther. Continue reading “Black Panther’s Chances at the Oscars – Special Features #28”

REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Smoke”

The following is a recap and review of the first episode of the fourth season of Better Call Saul, available on AMC in the U. S. and on Netflix internationally. Expect story spoilers. 

In the first episode of the fourth season — Smoke — Mike (played by Jonathan Banks) goes to work, and the rest of the main characters react to the events of the third season finale. Smoke was written by Peter Gould and directed by Minkie Spiro. Continue reading “REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Smoke””

REVIEW: Like Father (2018)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Netflix’s Like Father — Directed by Lauren Miller Rogen.

You know how a lot of comedy television shows have that episode where the characters go on vacation somewhere warm? Think Hawaii or the like. But then when they have that vacation it is at the exact worst time because the characters have either just broken up and now have to engage in couples activities, or they, for some reason, are upset with one another but now have no way to get away from each other. That is Like Father — a film about reconnecting by unplugging with the plot of a two-episode TV-show story arc, but which, somehow, has three major stars attached to it. Continue reading “REVIEW: Like Father (2018)”

REVIEW: Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (2018 – Documentary)

Poster – HBO

The following is a review of the HBO Documentary – Robin Williams: Come Inside my Mind.

For no reason, in particular, I rewatched Vincent Ward’s What Dreams May Come the other day. It is a fantasy-drama from the late 1990s that is memorable for its unique look as it showed audiences a different version of the afterlife. It is a film about the immortality of the human soul, the idea of soulmates, and it is also a film that pays particular attention to a character who died by suicide. Continue reading “REVIEW: Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (2018 – Documentary)”

REVIEW: Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Columbia Pictures / Lionsgate

The following is a review of Sicario: Day of the Soldado — Directed by Stefano Sollima.

Some movies don’t need sequels. Sure, I know what you are going to say. No films truly need sequels, which is true. But when almost the entire creative team behind a successful standalone film is switched out and replaced when the sequel is to be made, alarm bells ring. I become worried that a new creative team might ruin what made the first film so great. Continue reading “REVIEW: Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018)”

REVIEW: The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter (2018)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter — Directed by Jody Hill.

It is a good year to be Josh Brolin. Sure, we are more than halfway through the year, but, still, it is remarkable how one actor has managed to star in so many films this ‘early’ into the year. Over the course of this summer, Brolin has appeared in not one, not two, not three, but four films. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter (2018)”

Box Office Predictions – July 2018

And now we are officially into the second half of 2018. It still feels like the year just started, but, hey, here we are, and it is already time for the third (!!!) and final Marvel Studios film of 2018. Ant-Man and the Wasp is the big topic of discussion for July 2018, but I am also going to be talking about one other major July releases. Let’s get to it.  Continue reading “Box Office Predictions – July 2018”

REVIEW: Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Walt Disney Studios

The following is a review of Ant-Man and the Wasp — Directed by Peyton Reed.

When the first Ant-Man came out, it functioned as the epilogue to Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which, at that time, had just given us the jam-packed team-up film Avengers: Age of Ultron. Ant-Man was thus a refreshing solo film that acted as a palate cleanser of sorts.

Now, after Avengers: Infinity War’s ending blindsided audiences around the world, Ant-Man and the Wasp is here to act as the much needed lighthearted palate cleanser, and, just like with the first Ant-Man film, it is another good and fun Marvel movie. It is everything you expect it to be, and yet it doesn’t answer all of your questions. Continue reading “REVIEW: Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)”