Reviews

If you can't have fun with this one then use a phaser to remove that stick from your butt. In what is essentially Star Trek The Musical, the story is well thought out, the songs are very good, and the entire episode unfolds as musicals do and with appropriate beats and intelligent humor. It felt like something Seth Macfarlane would have done on THE ORVILLE. Very impressed by the overall quality of such a bold idea. Ignore the haters, this episode is a delightful mix of science, plot, theatre, and captures the beauty of a show like Star Trek. Set your imagination free, sit back, and enjoy with a fresh bowl of popcorn!

The first two episodes laid the groundwork for a potentially interesting story. But episode 3 blew it all up. Kenobi is a coward, Vader still can't act while under the control of poor Hayden. The dialogue is awful, makes no sense, and is inconsistent with the original films. Essentially the show runners were banking on the fan service to get good reviews. And based on the review score, it worked. Another con pulled on the audience.

This film won't be for everyone. If you have no interest in cooking then you will probably focus on the formula molded by cliches and tropes and so at best you will find it mildly entertaining. IF you love cooking, you should find it fascinating. Accurate to the life of professional chefs and the pressures of running restaurants: this life is wild and stressful and violent and entertaining. The biggest flaw in the film is the two main leads fall in love which is out of character for at least one of them and it feels as if an executive stepped in and forced it to happen. Otherwise, a delightfully entertaining and re-watchable film despite its formulaic nature. Bon Appetit!

"The Power of the Dog" wanted to be "There Will Be Blood" so badly; the visuals, tone, grittiness, and even the music seemed like carbon copies. But while the other film delivered an examination of human greed on multiple, visceral levels, "The Power of the Dog" delivered nothing but a superficial story that said nothing, and went nowhere. If it wasn't for the high powered cast, the film is a straight to streaming film nobody watches. A disappointment for me.

The Lovely Bones is a challenging adaptation. It's not a bad movie, but it's sanitized (and rightfully so) and filled with warm, colorful imagery that reduces the impact of the horror of a brutally murdered child. As a result, we don't connect to the grieving of the family nor do we get swept away in the CGI afterlife. The film did not feel like it existed in a real world, but the kind of miniature town you find at Hallmark stores. The film spoon feeds the emotions we're supposed to feel. It really had no other way to go.

Writer/Director Taylor Sheridan had an impressive resume coming into this film with edgy, razor sharp suspense films such as Sicario, Wind River, and Hell or High Water. Now he gets his hands on what I can only assume was more money and access to talent and he produces a great looking cliche starring the ever glamorous Angelina Jolie and Game of Throne's Littlefinger as a bumbling hitman whose partner is About a Boy had he grown up to be a milquetoast military assassin. The setting was there, the story not so much. The director settled for cliches instead of using the resources he had. Hopefully Sheridan goes back to broken budgets to fix his rich talent. A terribly missed opportunity.

Cliche after lame cliche including the beaten horse that is the "Grudge" contortion demon movement. Nothing to say except they didn't even try.

Rambo Last Blood is a racist film that was clearly supposed to be the next TAKEN movie but Neeson even turned it down, so they slapped Rambo on it and called it bad. Terrible ending to a once meaningful character. Via con dios ese.

This episode brings back a character for fan service, ignores the storytelling aspect by having an endless battle scene where once again the protagonists are basically invincible and despite being outnumber something like 20-1, you never sense they are in any danger. It was like watching a Marvel movie. A great show with its first real slip up. No big deal, on to next week.

We all have those movies that have absolutely zero reason to draw our viewership, but snag us anyways. The Day After Tomorrow is about as bland as its title, but I love it anyways. That's all I can say because there's no logic behind that love.

The story is not interesting, and the cinematography is shockingly amateur. Unwatchable film by a great filmmaker. Hopefully Coppola gets MEGALOPOLIS out for one final film that is more in tune with his talents.

Star Wars has been Marvelized. Evidenced by the latest soulless film containing a ridiculously convoluted plot the size of a pea being dragged along like a video game story by the next action set piece, and filled in between by wink wink jokey banter that didn't work. The fan service is not only bad but corny and produced only a sense of embarrassment for the actors paid to perform it.

The newest trilogy was a missed opportunity (Unless all you need is things to go boom), but what it revealed is not only are the good Star Wars films from the 20th Century, but have been mined to death. The story is nonexistent and the excuse for a plot is beyond absurd. The actors seemed bored by the material and the excitement at the end was probably fueled by the fact they're done with this lifeless series.

Star Wars lay dead in the present and alive in its past, hopefully the inevitable future finds a new, fresh voice.

Yes, the movie is a horribly shameless E.T. ripoff sponsored by Ronald McDonald, but viewing it with your friends while drunk is one of the great movie watching experiences.

The plots of the new Trek Films: Star Trek- Angry person seeks revenge by destroying the Federation.

Into Darkness: Angry person seeks revenge by destroying the Federation.

Simon Pegg takes over writing and....

Beyond: Angry person seeks revenge by destroying the Federation.

WTF?!!! Let's try something different next time why don't we?

The bottom line is endings are insanely difficult to do well. Throughout television and movie history, series endings have been especially maligned. Martin hasn't finished the novels for a reason, he likes to let the story breathe and be fresh and original. However, by nature, endings handcuff stories. Audiences learn and went through every ending possible for GoT. Whether they admit it or not, the ending was always going to be the worst part of the series. It was rushed, and needed to be longer, but the story that unfolded for the most part made sense. People's outrage over the ending proves just how amazing this show was. I'm not going to whine, it could have been better executed, but the ending was never going to satisfy the fans. Tyrion on the throne, Sansa, Arya, Jon, Cersei, Jamie, no one? Like Catelyn Stark realizing Robb's wedding was about to turn for the worse, I knew people would hate the ending to this series, as they did with The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Seinfeld, Return of the Jedi, Mad Men, and the endless other great series with subpar endings. Rushed, weak, bad, either way I'm not throwing the baby out with the bath water. This show was awesome, proven by the hateful rants in so many reviews. I for one enjoyed the ride. 10/10 for the series.

The Hunted is a basic formula movie and if starring someone other than Tommy Lee Jones and directed by someone other than William Friedkin, this film could've fallen into direct to Netflix Steven Seagal territory. However, Friedkin brings a brutality to the fight scenes that adds depth to the human trait brought by Tommy Lee Jones. The PTSD story could have been a lot smarter and elevated the film overall, but if you like detective vs killer movies, this film has that element, with two excellent fight sequences. A fun way to blow a couple hours.

The Vanishing is almost completely about its haunting atmosphere and gritty performances. A violent swing of events in the final third doesn't completely hold together, but a very fascinating drama nonetheless. Gerard Butler gives a very real performance, I wish he'd do more of these.

John Wick 3 has as amazingly choreographed fight scenes as one could ever hope for, that is what we come to expect from a John Wick film. However, the series has a story that makes the Fast and the Furious seem realistic. The overarching story is no longer interesting and doesn't have the quirky charm of the first film. Apparently every other person in the World is an assassin. It's okay to suspend disbelief, but John Wick 3 is ridiculous. But whatever, it's about the killing, and no other person does it as well as Wick.

Smart, edgy, quirky and action packed revenge film highlighted by a stellar lead performance by Keanu Reeves and equally effective supporting villainous role by the late Michael Nyquist. As good a shoot-em-up action film as there is.

PIXELS is dumb fun, cast aside your expectations of a deep insightful journey into the complicated abyss of video game lore and instead bask in the glory of Peter Dinklage as the dwarf version of Billy Mitchell, a pompous arrogant video game genius who calls himself "The Fireblaster." It's worth the watch for Dinklage alone. Get drunk before watching and you'll enjoy it even more. Yes, someone in this World loves this movie, I will not apologize nor am I ashamed.

The first half of the film relies on recycled jokes (A couple groaners) and is unsure of how to find its own story. The second half rediscovers the charm of the first film and gives a satisfying conclusion. Not as many laughs this time around but the characters are fun to be around and that was worth the 90 minutes.

"My Life" is a disease of the week plot: a man is dying of cancer so he decides to make videos for his unborn child teaching him about everything from love to shaving. The plot is borderline ridiculous at times, especially when a flashback about Keaton as a kid expects a circus to show up in his yard because he wished upon a star acts as a plot device for suppressed memories. All of this isn't the problem, the problem is the film has a LOT of lighthearted jokes that diminish the seriousness of the film and reduce it to simple milquetoast. The film has its moments, but in the end it falls short of the mark.

Star Trek may look cheap, but its stories are anything but; filled with depth, rich ideas, and executed with a great sense of adventure. Memorable, iconic characters representing logic, emotion, and morality in a whirlwind of political strife. Star Trek's meanings are timeless and will forever live long, and prosper. A must watch before you die.