SPECIAL GUEST REVIEWER: I am Groot. Much like our guest reviewer, I was delighted with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It balances action, humor, character dynamics and stunning effects both visual and practical with multiple plot strands and explorations of family, regret and reconciliation. It is all the more impressive considering what it has…
Has Luke Skywalker come to the conclusion that the woes of the galaxy are in part caused by the Jedi? In this first teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi it seems he has. That doesn’t, however, stop him from training Rey (Daisy Ridley) in the fine art of wielding a lightsaber or tapping…
Is there a specific name or term for a production that compiles stock action scenes from a foreign property and rewrites the context by filling in the gaps with a domestic production? Because between old distribution of kaiju films and the 24 year old series in question, a one-word description would be quite helpful. “Clip…
Based on a popular graphic novel by Marasume Shirow and directed by Rupert Sanders (“Snow White and the Huntsman”), Ghost in the Shell is a visually stunning experience with a fine core performance by Scarlett Johansson (“Captain America: Civil War”), but it borrows so much of other, mostly better science fiction films and TV series,…
The war continues between ape and man in War for the Planet of the Apes. As you may recall “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” saw the apes escape containment, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” had a tenuous agreement break between apes and a human encampment due to an overzealous ape, and…
From the premise that all extra-terrestrial life is harmful comes Life, a combination of “Alien,” “The Thing,” “Gravity,” “The Mummy” and a few other trapped-in-space or alien-assimilation movies that we all know and love (or tolerate in some cases). Life is the story of the six-member crew of the International Space Station who, while orbiting…
The second official trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming has landed and while it still doesn’t spoil any plot points, it does offer up more of a taste of the action to come. Peter Parker (Tom Holland), still coming to terms with his place in the superhero hierarchy, tiptoes between doing what he feels he has to…
