Digger, with Alejandro González Iñárritu’s choices of layered implications that create a mystery as to the actual setting and time period in which all of this is taking place, invites the head-scratching question of whether one can make a satire and judge it at the same time, removing that latter participation step from the audience. Oh, the polarizing think pieces coming from this bleak and inky movie will fill volumes!
Read More“Kong: Skull Island” taps into the same definition of “spectacle” that applies to “Jurassic World” nearly two years ago. This ain’t your old “King Kong.” This is “go big or go home.” If you’re looking for the version steeped in awe and wonder, go watch the 1933 original. To expand the original’s wonderment with the best of today’s special effects, go watch Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake. If you want a rip-roaring roller coaster with no strings, rules, or heavy gravitas attached, you’ve come to the right place in 2017.
Read MoreWhere using a composite character gets dicey is when they are made the lead because their fictional presence can outweigh the history and accuracy around them. Too much can be skewed to suit a character that doesn’t exist. That is exactly what occurs in “Patriots Day,” Peter Berg’s third consecutive collaboration with Mark Wahlberg. The makings for a stocked and stacked ensemble drama are dismantled by the misplaced hero worship that becomes little more than a vanity project.
Read MoreIt sure is nice to see a surprise stay a surprise. In today's day and age of instant and nearly universal access to information, news, and buzz, it's very hard to keep anything the size of a movie a secret. The filmmakers of "10 Cloverfield Lane" and its studio have pulled off a marketing stunt that has now paid off as a entertainment coup. "10 Cloverfield Lane" is capricious blast of horror, drama, and science fiction all rolled into one twisty enigma.
Read More"The Monuments Men" may be the rare enigma and case of identity crisis where a movie doesn't know what it's trying to be. If "The Monuments Men" had went straight serious to really honor this war effort story, those involved all have the chops to deliver an affecting epic. If it had went the lighthearted route, this same cast and crew could nail that crowd-pleaser too with equal room for success. Either route needed more dedication and more time to succeed.
Read More
