“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is an interesting look at the rise and fall of the Bakkers, a televangelist couple who built an empire and saw it crumble around them. They both have warm Northern Minnesota exteriors that make them seem likable and trustworthy. But the eyes that were fixed on a Heavenly gaze would distract from the money skimmed from the ‘church’ donations. Tammy Faye and her eye make-up made them famous, and the fall from grace gave them both a black eye.
“CopShop” takes a page out of the standard ‘Manual of Nominal Action Thrillers’. But it makes just enough scribbles in the margins to make it a decently slick movie. All of the ingredients are standard, and the cooking instructions are also straightforward. Take a basic format: hit man is out to kill his target, and a good cop wants to stand in the way. But then mix in some fresh ideas (it all takes place in a police station), and some off-the-wall characters (another hit man shows up delivering balloons), and it makes the bat guano fly! Read more
“Blue Bayou” tells a rarely told tale of those brought to the States as young children, and now threatened with potential deportation. It is similar to the DREAMER kids, but these are not usually from South American countries or Mexico. These are children from overseas, adopted into White families, but never fully made into U.S. citizens. This is a story of how that situation can break up a family, and break your heart. Read more
“The Card Counter” is a movie about a man with a unique skill, and you can guess that skill. During a spell in the slammer, he learned that he was good at counting cards, meaning the cards used in gambling. He is a low-profile expert at winning. He keeps a low profile due to his criminal record, and because casinos discourage ‘card counter’ players. But when his past catches up to him, he goes all in. He does not count on what happens next.
“Candyman” is movie based a previous movie version of the urban legend about an evil spirit of a man with a hook for a hand who would pass out sweet treats to get new victims. This older movie was a minor cult classic, and of course it is now time to bring it up to date with more socially relevant topics. Read more
“The Protégé” believes that old movie plot ideas can be done with a new twist and with new characters and still be a rip-roaring experience. They would be correct in that thinking, because this movie finds a unique place to become a globe-trotting revenge fight-fest and shoot-out that makes the best use of the excellent cast.
“The Night House” is a spooky drama with few real scares, but a slow burn of a thriller to see if ghosts exist in the main character’s mind — or in real life. Due to her husband’s recent suicide, a woman deals with supernatural troubles in her house, where things tend to go bump (or worse) in the night. Rather than do the normal thing, and LEAVE, she sticks around to unfold the mystery.
Opens in theaters on August 5
Also available for streaming on HBO/Max
“The Suicide Squad” is the full-barreled, R-rated, no-holds-barred Love Child resulting from the combination of Writer/Director James Gunn and D.C. Comics. The D.C. Extended Universe of comic-based movies just got a kick-start with a cattle prod to the nether regions. But rather than resulting in a painful experience, this ‘Squad’ takes off at sixty-miles-an-hour into a Gunn-designed world of magnificent mayhem. The gore and violence comes with equal measures of hilarity and movie magic.
“Annette” is perhaps the first ‘art-house/art-pop operatic musical’ type movie. But this might be the final one ever made, too. The idea to make this unusual style of film was a creative leap of faith. However, this leap might be going into the ‘abyss’. The story is portrayed as combination of normal dialog along with singing vocal dialog. Much like in the tradition of many operas, it tells a story of a tragic cycle of fame and failure. The talent to make this movie is quite abundant. The results are sparse. Read more
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins” is based on the HCU (Hasbro Cinematic Universe – if there is such a thing) and is vaguely connected to the other G.I. Joe movies. But this movie is all about the ‘origins’ of the one named “Snake Eyes”. He is an expert in martial arts and now you get to learn his background. They say “Never bring a knife to a gun fight”. This movie goes further — “Never bring an Uzi to a Katana showdown”. Read more
