Category: REVIEWS

  • REVIEW: Astronaut tells a simple, superbly splendid tale

    REVIEW: Astronaut tells a simple, superbly splendid tale

    Few actors have such a penetrating, formidable screen presence as Richard Dreyfuss. The 71-year-old thespian and Oscar-winner has given us such enduring hits as Jaws, Close Encounter of the Third Kind, and American Graffiti. While his new film, Astronaut, never reaches the heights of his classics, it proves to be a genuine showcase for his…

  • DVD REVIEW: After an inoffensive, unsurprising teen romance

    DVD REVIEW: After an inoffensive, unsurprising teen romance

    The thing about the adaptation After, from Anna Todd’s bestselling novel, is it never dips to low enough standards to be categorically bad. If anything, save for a rather bland final twist, it’s a film that will neither anger you or fill you with joy. It ends with a shoulder-shrug and a sigh. Perhaps I’m…

  • MIB reboot a frustrating, lazy alien actioner

    MIB reboot a frustrating, lazy alien actioner

    It’s been seven years since Men In Black 3 reinvigorated the franchise, but this long-gestating reboot was a big leap backward for all involved. It takes two of the most likable stars in Hollywood in Thor: Ragnarok co-stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, and throws them a lazy script and Phantom Menace-level special effects. Hemsworth…

  • REVIEW: Annabelle 3 boasts great performances, but conjures few scares

    REVIEW: Annabelle 3 boasts great performances, but conjures few scares

    After four Insidious films, two Conjuring incarnations, The Nun & La Llorona spin-offs, and three Annabelle flicks, it appears this once-terrifying universe has run out of ways to surprise us. This haunted universe created by James Wan, the writer of the original Saw, began with Insidious in 2010, but nine years on, the scripts and…

  • REVIEW: Yesterday a nostalgic, charming summer vehicle

    REVIEW: Yesterday a nostalgic, charming summer vehicle

    Imagine if suddenly, your favourite band of all time just disappeared. If their music, legacy and impact on the world just vanished into thin air. What would you do, if you had a decent singing voice and the means to record those tunes all over? Would you do it? More importantly, would you try to…

  • REVIEW: Gory, self-aware Child’s Play remake breaks no new ground

    REVIEW: Gory, self-aware Child’s Play remake breaks no new ground

    This remake to the enduring cult classic Chucky films breathes new life into the maniacal doll. The last few Child’s Play incarnations have been campy and less and less scary. While the remake is decidedly more terrifying and gorier than many of those before it, it certainly doesn’t add anything new to the Chucky canon.…

  • REVIEW: Toy Story 4 a genuinely endearing sequel

    REVIEW: Toy Story 4 a genuinely endearing sequel

    The level to which I cherish the original three Toy Story films is unrivaled. I would beg my parents as a five-year-old to take me to the original during its long 1995 theatrical tenure, and I recall them obliging more than a few times. For me, this Pixar classic taught me about love, life, and…

  • REVIEW: Late Night is a bit too woke

    REVIEW: Late Night is a bit too woke

    This flick about a late night talk show host, aging and cynical, who brings in fresh talent to backstop the show’s decline is good, but not as good as it could have been. With all the right ingredients, including Emma Thompson as the cantankerous host, Mindy Kaling as her young “diversity hire” protege, and an…

  • REVIEW: Con artist DeLorean framed with movie magic

    REVIEW: Con artist DeLorean framed with movie magic

    The man behind some of the most innovative cars ever is documented in as much detail as possible here. John DeLorean, who worked for years at General Motors before opening his own shop, is best known for the Pontiac GTO, Firebird, and the DeLorean, which was modified to feature in film Back To The Future.…

  • REVIEW: Brightburn looks a bit too faded

    REVIEW: Brightburn looks a bit too faded

    It’s pretty unnerving to see the highest concept of the summer flame out in a disconcerting, mediocre film. Brightburn is about a young man, who crashlanded to earth as an infant, exhibiting strange signs and symptoms years after a family secretly adopted him. Brandon is a bit of a loner, and some kids in the…