Tag: reviews

  • The Predator (’18 review)

    The Predator (’18 review)

    4 outta 5 Writer and director Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Iron Man Three, The Nice Guys) has a way of combining ’80s style action throwbacks, rapid fire dialogue patter and extremely quirky characters. Now he sets his flashy style on the long running sci-fi horror franchise with The Predator. Black actually was in the original…

  • Rust

    Rust

    3 outta 5 Rust is a film that sticks closely to core tenets of the Western genre. The plot involving a cynical elder man looking after a young charge is very much something in Westerns like True Grit and even sci-fi Westerns like The Mandalorian. There is a lot of grumbling and sad cowboys talking…

  • The Accountant 2

    The Accountant 2

    4 outta 5 The Accountant 2 is more freewheeling and fun than its 2016 predecessor, The Accountant. The big twist at the end of the first film, that two main characters were long lost siblings, is now out in the open and the movie vibes on their brotherly dynamic. It’s a lot more fun as…

  • Novocaine

    Novocaine

    4 outta 5 Novocaine is actually a sweet love story wrapped in ultraviolence. The chemistry between the leads is very electric and then that turns into a ton of crazy action scenes. With a weird high concept hook, it gives the movie free license to have some very over the top action as the hero…

  • Love Hurts

    Love Hurts

    3 outta 5 Love Hurts is a straightforward action romp that gets by on some zippy and messy action scenes and a likable lead. It is sort of rudimentary in its plot, the cliché of a gaggle of elite assassins with each more deadly and quirky than the next is worn out, and the unsuspecting…

  • Companion

    Companion

    4 outta 5 Companion is a clever and subversive sci-fi horror thriller about romance, robots, murder and software manipulation. While the notion of someone falling in love with a robotic artificial intelligence has been done in films like Her or Ex Machina, this is still a distinct take. Companion is less about potential robotic apocalypse…

  • Ad Vitam

    Ad Vitam

    2 outta 5 Ad Vitam is a Netflix French Language action thriller that is considerably short on action or thrills, but those do arrive eventually. The most interesting stuff happens at the start and then a very long exposition flashback that drags into awkward police romance, and then some solid action at the end. In…

  • Kraven The Hunter

    Kraven The Hunter

    3 outta 5 Kraven The Hunter is the latest, and potentially final, attempt by Sony Pictures to spin off various Spider-Man characters into their own franchise, without actually using the webbed wall-crawler himself. The Venom series has been consistently fun and wacky throughout all three installments, although it has been more mixed (to say politely)…

  • Nutcrackers

    Nutcrackers

    4 outta 5 Nutcrackers is one of those comedies about a busy working guy who, for various reasons, must learn to settle down as they inherit guardianship of rambunctious children, which has been done many, many times before. Now Nutcrackers may not get many points for originality, but it does have a sort of chaotic…

  • Young Woman and the Sea

    Young Woman and the Sea

    4 outta 5 Young Woman and the Sea is a stirring sports drama that is inspired by the true story of a woman from 100 years ago who swam the English Channel, a feat that was an incredible display of athletic endurance. The film is affably performed and features impressive swimming scenes as the audience…