‘Ride Along 2’ Review: More Mediocrity
The 2014 buddy-cop comedy ‘Ride Along’ wasn’t very good. However, it was released in a slow winter movie season to great success. Hollywood logic dictates that’s more than enough to earn a sequel. So...
View Article‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ Review: Third Time’s Fine
The ‘Kung Fu Panda’ series has always been far better than it had any right to be. Hinged on a simple cartoon premise (cute animal who has no business learning martial arts becomes master, d’awww…),...
View Article‘Zoolander 2’ Review: Acceptable, If Nothing Special
Comedy sequels ain’t easy. Like hearing the same joke twice, it just won’t be quite as funny the second time, no matter how amusing the telling. Only a handful of examples manage to match or top their...
View Article‘London Has Fallen’ Review: Bigger, Dumber, Not Better
In the great battle of “Die Hard in the White House” movies of 2013, ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ emerged as the unlikely victor. That was mostly because it was released before the similarly themed and titled...
View Article’10 Cloverfield Lane’ Review: Twilight Zoned
The worst thing about ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ is the title. It’s not just awkward; it’s a spoiler. Sadly, the realities of contemporary Hollywood filmmaking mean that the movie has to be marketed as a...
View Article‘The Divergent Series: Allegiant’ Review: Mediocrity Minus an Ending
The second ‘Divergent’ movie made slightly more money than the first in the global market, so now we have a third chapter. The main knock against the series thus far is that it feels rather redundant...
View Article‘Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’ Review: Well, At Least It Looks Pretty
After three years of studio hype and internet hate, ‘Batman v. Superman’ is finally here. Predictably, the first wave of reviews have been overwhelmingly harsh. However, for the most part, that...
View Article‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2’ Review: Bigger, Greeker, More Pointless
Say what you will about the decade-late sequels to ‘Anchorman’ and ‘Zoolander’, but at least those movies had adoring cult audiences that demanded sequels for so long that their creators eventually...
View Article‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’ Review: A Contractual Obligation Masquerading As...
We all know that big-budget blockbusters are products that exist purely for commercial gain, but only a special few of these productions are so cynically and superficially produced as to be insulting....
View Article‘Captain America: Civil War’ Review: Marvel’s 8-Year Payoff Picture
‘Captain America: Civil War’ plastered a big, dopey, childish grin on my face from start to finish due to how much it truly feels like a comic book brought to life. The movie is unapologetic to...
View Article‘Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising’ Review: A Non-Sucky Sequel
Comedy sequels generally suck. We all know this. So it’s a pleasant surprise to say that ‘Neighbors 2’ doesn’t. It repeats the trick of the first movie by being better than anyone had any right to...
View Article‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Review: It’s the End of the World As We Know It
It’s odd that the ‘X-Men’ series is by far the longest-running film franchise of the 2000s comic book blockbuster boom and yet it’s also somehow an also-ran in the superhero race. Bryan Singer...
View Article‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’ Review: Mildly Improved Mediocrity
‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’ is a sequel that actually improves on its predecessor. However, the last movie was pretty bad despite the billion dollars it made at the box office suggesting...
View Article‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows’ Review: The Secret of the...
Here’s the thing about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: With the possible exception of the original comic book series and weirdo 1990 live action movie, this franchise was never very good. Yeah, yeah,...
View Article‘Now You See Me 2’ Review: Magic for (and by) Dummies
It would be hard to defend ‘Now You See Me’ as a good movie. The ridiculous magic heist fantasy was far too silly and stupid (willfully and otherwise) for that. However, it was a fun movie often as...
View Article‘The Conjuring 2’ Review: Longer, Not Scarier
Back in the ancient and innocent days of 2013, ‘The Conjuring’ brought home buckets full of cash by reminding people about good old-fashioned cinematic scare grammar. The movie was far from original...
View Article‘Finding Dory’ Review: A Strong Sequel, But No Equal
It’s been sad to watch Pixar dive into its sequel period to fulfill the commercial requirements of its corporate overlords. The studio that once prided itself on being the most consistently original in...
View Article‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ Review: Payback’s a Bitch
Twenty years ago, Roland Emmerich became an open wound on the side of Hollywood that still refuses to heal. His “Aliens make monuments go boom” disaster movie ‘Independence Day’ served up some of the...
View Article‘The Purge: Election Year’ Review: Stupid Smart
It’s been quite amusing to watch ‘The Purge’ grow from a modest home invasion thriller with an intriguing concept into the major Hollywood horror franchise of our time. The series is an oddly critical...
View Article‘Ice Age: Collision Course’ Review: Fifth Time Ain’t the Charm
The fifth movie in the ‘Ice Age’ franchise, ‘Collision Course’… Wait a minute… I need to pause for a second. The FIFTH ‘Ice Age’ movie since 2002?! How did that happen?! Sure, these movies make money,...
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