The Movie Guy

While it’s watchable, the story behind everyone’s favorite starship pilot lacks the smirk and swagger we’ve come to expect in the Han Solo character, making “Solo: A Star Wars Story” just so-so.

The film’s co-written by Lawrence Kasdan (“The Empire Strikes Back”), so we’re treated to depictions of events in Solo’s past we already know: how he hooks up with his co-pilot, Chewbacca; how he gets the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian; how he accomplishes the feat of flying the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. But the script tells these plot points so “by-the-book” that the most dynamic and memorable qualities contained in the Han Solo character- his arrogant charm, his flippant asides- get lost in the slog of a straightforward sci-fi story. Continue reading →

Employing a tried-and-true horror movie gimmick, “A Quiet Place” impresses more by focusing on a family in peril than the fanged creatures hunting them should they make the slightest sound. Tense and taut, none of the film’s 90 minutes are wasted- it’s one of the most effective and suspenseful horror movies I’ve seen in a long time. Continue reading →

With a limited release last year, a lot of people may have missed writer Taylor Sheridan’s (“Sicario,” “Hell or High Water”) directorial debut “Wind River,” a film he also wrote and featuring Jeremy Renner in an Oscar-worthy performance. Thanks to Netflix, here’s your chance to see it. Continue reading →

With the Oscars being presented on Sunday, March 4^th, I like to focus on the films and performances that I found most memorable. In keeping with the tradition of the late Siskel & Ebert’s “If we picked the Oscars,” here are my standouts for 2017 using the nominees in the main Academy Award categories. While others may try to second-guess Oscar politics with who ‘should win’ or ‘will win,’ I like to keep it simple. In case you missed any of them, these are the films and performances that I’ll remember- simply put, these are the ones:   Continue reading →

The underdog from Philly versus the reigning champ- it’s a sports scenario we’ve seen before. In the rare case of life imitating art, the Philadelphia Eagles are 4.5 point underdogs to reigning NFL champs New England Patriots going into Super Bowl LII and that makes 1976’s “Rocky” all the more relevant. Continue reading →

I believe you can’t appreciate the good without experiencing the bad. As we await the announcement of the Academy Award nominees, I like to watch one of the worst films that 2017 had to offer to satisfy my own “checks and balances:” a little nugget titled “The Book of Henry” satisfied my search. Continue reading →

Seemingly cobbled together from the best elements of outrageously planned true-life crime films, “I, Tonya” makes the most its parts with a script that delves deeply into the character motivations at its core and uniformly sound acting that sells the scheme that toppled the rise of one of figure skating’s finest, Tonya Harding. Continue reading →

Fans of the “Star Wars” saga will find the return of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in “The Last Jedi” as disappointing as when Luke found out Darth Vader was his Dad; it’s a film that’s so unoriginal, uninterestingly familiar and overly long that you’ll wonder why you just didn’t stay home and watch “The Empire Strikes Back” or “Return of the Jedi” instead. Continue reading →

In producing, directing and starring in “The Disaster Artist,” the true story of filmmaker Tommy Wiseau’s ‘so bad-it’s good’ 2003 film “The Room,” James Franco has made a passion play where the passion shines through. Anchored in his thoughtful portrayal of the mysteriously odd and eccentric wanna-be celebrity Wiseau, Franco has chronicled the unlikeliest of success stories. Continue reading →

Those unfamiliar with Agatha Christie’s classic whodunit will be treated to a muddled mess with Kenneth Branagh’s “Murder on the Orient Express”- a verbose and grandiose adaptation that will leave audiences guessing long after the mystery’s solved. Continue reading →