Requesting story . . . “Access denied,” replied the film. Odd, could have sworn everything was fine earlier, specifically in the mind-blowing introductory 20 minutes of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets that sees director Luc Besson connecting us with our younger selves. Gleeful wonderment becomes the only thing palpable as we witness…
Have you ever been so happy to be wrong? I remember when “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” was being advertised, and I wanted no part of it. I loved the original series in its high and lows, but the Tim Burton remake had completely soured my desire for any new take on what…
For many a superhero fan, whether in comic books, television or movie format, Spider-Man is likely to be a childhood favorite. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s creation of a nerdy teenager who acquires the abilities of a spider has struck nerves (or web strands) with multiple generations, as Peter Parker’s struggles with his new powers…
It’s a well-known fact that most third installments of film franchises do not rise to the level of the first (and often the second). Now, these examples are subjective, of course, but I present as evidence the following pictures: “Rocky III,” “Superman III,” “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the…
That will do, super pig. That will do. Animals never have it easy in Bong Joon-ho’s world: “Barking Dogs Never Bite” paints those that yap as vermin that need terminating, “The Host” mutates a fish into a rampaging abomination and now Okja follows a hybrid fated for the abattoir. Yet, rather than rage at or…
Before I begin this review for Transformers: The Last Knight, let me thank director Michael Bay for doing something no one has ever done for me: Going through so much time and expense to bore the living heck out of me. For that I am eternally grateful. Now blatantly obvious, this series — like many…
Looks like the summer of 2017 is going to be another mixed bag of movies. For every well-received, attention-getting spectacle such as “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” or “Wonder Woman” we are gifted something rather flimsy and forgettable such as co-writer/director Johannes Roberts’ generic “divas in deep water dilemma” thriller 47 Meters Down. Contrived…
