Review: “Bohemian Rhapsody”

3 out of 5 stars. You don’t need to know much about the band Queen to know that their music defied convention; one listen to “Bohemian Rhapsody” will tell you that. It’s curious and rather disappointing then that the biopic of the band and its lead singer, Freddie Mercury, is the definition of conventional. It’s […]

5 Best Movies of Summer 2018

When I have reflected on summer movies in past years, I’ve always found it hard to pick the best ones from the films I’ve seen, usually because there aren’t more than a couple that I believed were truly great. This year, however, my top five list was hard to narrow down because there were so […]

“BlackkKlansman”

4.5 out of 5 stars. Spike Lee’s new joint, “BlackkKlansman,” opens with a scene from the fictional 1939 film “Gone with the Wind,” and closes with very real video clips from the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. While the story the film has to tell surrounds Ron Stallworth, a black Colorado Springs […]

Review: “Crazy Rich Asians”

4 out of 5 stars. “Crazy Rich Asians” is the first film produced by a Hollywood studio to boast an all-Asian principal cast in 25 years. They are a minority who are often either grossly under-represented, or poorly represented, in major American films. And while “Crazy Rich Asians,” which is based on the novel of […]

Review: “The Meg”

3 out of 5 stars. Thanks to the Syfy Channel and the “Sharknado” movies, we’re living in a new golden age of cheesy monster flicks, and as evidenced by the popularity of these low-budget movies, the more far-fetched and, quite frankly, intentionally bad, the better. Big budget Hollywood films that are released in theaters are usually […]

Review: “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation”

2.5 out of 5 stars. It’s a bit odd seeing a movie like “Hotel Transylvania” getting a release date in the middle of July, but it makes sense considering that the latest film in the hit animated franchise is titled “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation.” And if you think that means this movie will be […]

Review: “Teen Titans Go! To the Movies”

4 out of 5 stars. It’s can be refreshing—and hilarious—to watch someone make fun of themselves, especially when that someone is a large entity like DC Comics and Warner Brothers. It’s no secret that Warner’s attempts at creating a DC cinematic universe akin to Marvel’s in recent years have been the subject of much ridicule. […]

Review: “Christopher Robin”

3 out of 5 stars. Many of us have likely grown up on “Winnie the Pooh,” whether in the original stories by A.A. Milne or, more likely, the Disney animated films. There’s something wonderfully old-fashioned about them, a trait that the Walt Disney Studios and director Marc Forester combine with a heavy dose of reality […]

Review: “Eighth Grade”

5 out of 5 stars. “Eighth Grade” is the story of an average girl’s last week of middle school. But there’s nothing average about this film, which is the debut feature from writer/director Bo Burnham. Rather than a quirky and sugar-coated teen comedy, it’s about as honest and unflinching as a portrayal of middle school […]

Review: “Mission: Impossible- Fallout”

4.5 out of 5 stars. The “Mission: Impossible” film franchise has a lot in common with its leading man, Tom Cruise. They’re both relentless, and never seem to know when to stop or how to slow down. But they also age gracefully while managing to pull out some new tricks to impress audiences. And while […]