“Black and Blue” is a movie title that could represent the terrible beating that both the local citizens and the law enforcement system takes. Or it could mean the divide between the low-income (and even lower class) people of color (black) and the local police force (men and women in blue). Read more
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” is a sequel to the first Disney switch-up to “Sleeping Beauty” called “Maleficent”. The idea of looking at the fairy tale story from a different perspective was well-received. Which is to say – it made a ton of money. Read more
“Zombieland: Double Tap” is the result of a ten-year wait cycle – a sequel based on the 2009 movie “Zombieland”. The original was a clever and irreverent ‘Zom-Com’ about four very different people who band together to fight off zombies. It had elements of tension and horror, but only to further the goofy story line and give the characters good quips (example: “Nut up or Shut up”). This new movie takes the same fun and self-aware group and gives them new people to meet, new zombies to fight, and new adventures to have. Read more
“Lucy in the Sky” is a well-meaning, yet ultimately unsuccessful attempt at asking DEEP QUESTIONS about Earthlings ability to handle outer space. The idea is that an astronaut can have a space-bound experience that forever changes them into a person who can never find meaning in the normal humdrum way of life. Read more
“The Addams Family” started out as the bizarre hand-drawn comic stylings of creator Charles Addams (in the 1930’s). It was later turned into a TV show, and then still later it became the basis of a couple of movies. So, it is only right and fitting that is now once again an animated comic movie (but it lost the ‘hand-drawn’ aspect). Read more
“Abominable” is an animated story of a girl in China who finds an oversized new friend and winds up on a long road trip to get him home. The animation production level is really spot on, and everything is lovely to watch. Read more
“Downton Abbey” is the movie based on the BBC series that lasted for six seasons. Many people are enthralled with the British nobility and the splendid upper crust of English society. Read more
“Ad Astra” is a beautiful and moving depiction of a single man’s journey into the unknown to face the unforgotten. Read more
“The Goldfinch” is adapted from a popular novel. The visual ideas that are pulled from the pages are not the same as the mental images that a person would get from reading the book. The movie is lush with visual flair and rich with literary and artistic meaning. But the emotional connections that it desperately wants to forge are never made clear. Read more
“Angel Has Fallen” is a new entry in the series starring Gerard Butler as a Secret Service agent. The stunt action is non-stop crazy, and the ammo is in endless supply. So, it is another action-based shoot-em-up where the plot borders between easily predictable and predictably easy. Read more
