Review: “Sonic the Hedgehog”

2.5 out of 5 stars. I can’t really say what exactly I was expecting from the live-action movie version of “Sonic the Hedgehog.” When the first trailer for the film debuted in April 2019, the reaction was outrage from fans, and something between confusion and horror for everyone else. Needless to say that despite an […]

Review: “Birds of Prey”

4 out of 5 stars. Comic book movies can be dicey territory, but I think it’s safe to say that most people found the 2016 ensemble film “Suicide Squad” to be an unsatisfying mess. The best part of that movie, however, was that it gave us Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Harley Quinn. The character, who […]

Review: “1917”

5 out of 5 stars. “1917” is a war epic brought down to a more personal level, without sacrificing the scale or horror of said war. That is thanks to director Sam Mendes and his crew, who adhere to a vision for this story—based on an anecdote told to him by his grandfather, Alfred Mendes—that […]

Review: “Uncut Gems”

3.5 out of 5 stars. I watched “Uncut Gems” for the first time over two days ago, and I still have a hard time putting my reaction to the film into words. It’s engrossing, but not exactly enjoyable; intense, even though the endgame is rather predictable. None of the characters are likeable, including Adam Sandler’s […]

Review: “Cats”

1 out of 5 stars. I will never forget where I was when the “Cats” trailer first debuted. It was a warm summer evening, and I was standing in a Starbucks just outside of Dallas, Texas waiting on the latte I’d ordered. Having not been on my phone much all day, I scrolled through Twitter, […]

Review: “Bombshell”

2.5 out of 5 stars. “Bombshell,” one of the first big movies to be based on some of the events that spurred the Me Too movement, is simultaneously shocking, and shockingly tame. Directed by Jay Roach, the film revolves around the sexual harassment scandal at Fox News, in which several women exposed CEO Roger Ailes, […]

Review: “Star Wars Episode XI: The Rise of Skywalker”

3 out of 5 stars. How does one even begin to end the greatest cinematic franchise of all time, one that has been going for 42 years strong? It’s a herculean task, but it’s one that with “Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker,” director and co-writer J.J. Abrams approaches more with the intent […]

Review: “Jumanji: The Next Level”

3.5 out of 5 stars. 2017’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” was a surprisingly imaginative reboot of the 1995 film. But it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect that its sequel, “Jumanji: The Next Level,” wouldn’t have anything new and exciting to offer. While it does retain a lot of the same elements that made the […]

Review: “Marriage Story”

4.5 out of 5 stars. Contrary to its title, writer and director Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” drops the viewer into the story of a marriage that it at its end. But even though we don’t see the couple at the heart of the story falling in love, we get a complete sense of what their […]

Review: “The Report”

3.5 out of 5 stars. “The Report” is the rare movie based on a true stories that doesn’t focus on bending facts to fit a more entertaining narrative; in fact, it frequently does just the opposite. Written and directed by Scott Z. Burns, the film tells the story of an investigation led by Senate staffer […]