MOVIE REVIEW: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

To sneak preview a later life lesson in this review, you could trade the Greek demographic of the central Portokalos family in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" with any other American immigrant nationality and get much of the same effect. Nearly all people are being both defined by and embarrassed by their family. Whether you're Greek or not, you will watch both original and the sequel and poke fun at the similarities and differences. Such is an easy draw, but that charm has limits in a been-there-done-that sequel.

MOVIE REVIEW: Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

"Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" is constantly intense, powerfully suspenseful, and operatically enthralling on an emotional and sensory level. It is a remarkable experience on the big screen. We are in a new era with a new tone. There is room in the cinematic superhero landscape for important and formidable urgency like this. Let Marvel stick to the shiny sparkles and corner their piece of the market. This new franchise has chosen its mature path and they are showing the resolute fortitude to stick with it, haters be damned. What follows is spoiler-free!

MOVIE REVIEW: The Confirmation

If we were to play Word Association and you were given the name Clive Owen, what would you say? The lucky astute of us who have followed Clive since 1998's "Croupier" have seen him play brash and gruff villains, antiheroes, and leading men. As of the new film "The Confirmation," you have very likely never seen him play a domestic father. Now, north of 50 years old, here's Clive Owen in a role that doesn't require, nor utilize, any of the sexy traits that made him a James Bond candidate before Daniel Craig.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Program

Creating entertaining biopics about a universally disgraced figure are a hard sell under that key word of "entertaining." If they attempt to create sympathy, a duel of alienation and bias can arise. A good, thought-provoking movie has to fearlessly dig deeper. As Van der Rohe is attributed to saying, "the devil is in the details." Exposing the sordid and untold details of what led to the subject's defamation is where your film gets interesting. The rise and fall of champion cyclist Lance Armstrong is fertile ground and a fresh wound that has yet to be solved. "The Program," directed "Philomena" and "The Queen" Oscar nominee Stephen Frears, pedals uphill in attempting to shine a light on the dark details.

MOVIE REVIEW: 10 Cloverfield Lane

It 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.

MOVIE REVIEW: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny

Last summer, the chief complaints of "Jurassic World" were its lack of majesty and awe to follow the original "Jurassic Park." One can now say the very same about the new long-distance sequel "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny." The soulful beating heart that stirred the 2000 winner of four Academy Awards has been stifled to large degree. The dazzling and balletic flight of fancy that we fell in love with then has been replaced by repetitive flashiness driven by a different audience.

MOVIE REVIEW: Knight of Cups

The title of "Knight of Cups" from polarizing filmmaker Terrance Malick refers to the tarot card of the same name, a symbol that represents someone "constantly bored, in constant need of stimulation, but also artistic and refined." You don't say? That label may just apply to anyone in the audience watching this film. Your copacetic taste is better than this film and you will be spiritless and dispassionate, matching the assigned astrology.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Wave

Plenty of disaster movies pretend to lean on real science to justify their cinematic ambitions in order to offer belief an audience can accept and exude some form of intelligence. Too often, the manic energy to entertain exceeds the science and a two-hour turd polishing clinic results. The decent ones can touch base with the right science and blend in the theatrics. As long as you can stand subtitles and tray of cheese samples, you have a mild winner in "The Wave (Bolgen)" from Norway.

MOVIE REVIEW: Triple 9

The latest film from director John Hilllcoat is a deadly game of cops and robbers. The rub in "Triple 9" is that the cops are the robbers. Painted with thick coat of fictional grit capable of kicking in our audience doors, the director's sixth feature aims to be a new "Heat" for this era. Boasting a stellar top-shelf cast of dedicated, yet mismatched parts, "Triple 9" does its best to battle treacherous flaws.

MOVIE REVIEW: Race

Highlighting the worthy American legend that is James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens, the new film "Race" may not roundly deviate from the tried-and-true sports film formula we have seen in dozens of films. Nonetheless, director Stephen Hopkins's film radiates an impassioned heart that few other films of the sports genre can rival or surpass. In a present day of questionable athletic role models (and on the timely heels of Black History Month), this is the kind of film we should be sending buses of school students of all ages to instead of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" movies.

ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW: Deadpool

If you are not a die-hard geek or comic book fan, there's a chance you've never heard of "Deadpool." After this Presidents' Day/Valentine's Day holiday weekend, you will never forget him. Take all of the pathos, mythology, gravitas, nobility, and world-rescuing heroism have you come to expect from a superhero film, throw them out the window, and light them on fire. "Deadpool" is the most red-faced and side-splitting movie of the comic genre to date.

MOVIE REVIEW: Hail, Caesar!

For this writer and website, the films of Joel and Ethan Coen are pegged as acquired tastes. Slot the brothers and their work right next to Quentin Tarantino in that regard. Their creative brilliance and their reverent place in the upper echelon of superb storytellers are indisputable, proven by their six Oscar wins. Sometimes, in the measure of taste, their choices and results are a maddening or confounding mess. When the Coen brothers are on their game, they are white hot. "Hail, Caesar!" won't go down as one of their best, but there is no denying its draw as a thoroughly entertaining hoot.

EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

by Don Shanahan

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