movie review

Heist stands as the best movie David Mamet has both written and directed, and the gold standard in crafting a plausible heist and con.

Sinners lays down its cards right away: the pleasures of the flesh conjure evil and maybe even eternal damnation. Is it worth it, or not?

True art asks only that we observe and then roll around its many questions until we learn something about ourselves.

Drop worked for me, primarily because it’s surprisingly disciplined. Director Christopher Landon and screenwriters Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach, trust their material and audience.

The good news is that over the last 35 years, this expertly crafted 97-minute action thriller starring Gene Hackman has earned more appreciation.

With two cups of Taken, a tablespoon of John Wick, a dash of The Equalizer, and Jason Statham stirring the pot, A Working Man hits the action sweet spot and then some.  

The Package (1989) should be screened in every acting class as an example of what a brilliant actor like Gene Hackman can bring to a script that doesn’t give him much character to work with.

The Disney Grooming Syndicate’s live-action remake of Snow White (2025) is something beyond bad. My hope was to surprise everyone with a rave review. That was not to be. Other than Gal Gadot, who is obviously enjoying herself while firing off double barrels of charisma as the Evil Queen, you could put this movie in a deep freeze and it would still stink.

Is Full Moon in Blue Water a classic? Maybe not. But it is ridiculously likable, filled with charm, rewatchable, and populated with relatable and flawed characters.

Pig is a slow, quiet, satisfying burn; 92 minutes of subdued tension where nothing after the first act happens as you expect.

Marlon Brando gets the credit he deserves for changing acting forever, but people forget he basically created the 1950s Beat Generation.

Conclave is what I call an HBO-TV movie, a handsomely produced, left-leaning feature that never feels like a movie-movie.

I not only don’t see the feminist subtext in The Substance, I reject it entirely because to look at it through a feminist lens leaves you without a solution.

Osgood Perkins is a very good director. With The Monkey, he mostly hits what he aims for, which is one grim chuckle after another.

Audition (1999) is one of those classic, must-see horror movies I’d heard about and finally decided (after only a quarter-century) to pull the trigger on.

With Captain America: Brave New World, the Disney Grooming Syndicate’s Marvel division has another stinker on its hands. And unlike those pre-Avengers: Endgame stinkers, there’s no sense that if you miss this one, you will miss a chapter in an over-arching story you’re already invested in.

Companion is a pretty ingenious story backed by a pretty ingenious concept brought to life in a pretty ingenious way.

Flight Risk is eager to entertain, sometimes over-eager, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s charming, forgettable, and exactly the kind of movie that reruns on cable TV for years.

Nosferatu reminds us that we can never escape the consequences of our mortal sins.  

After the pretty great Invisible Man (2020), director and co-writer Leigh Whannell delivers a Wolf Man that never rises above the filler that regularly punishes Netflix subscribers.

A financial and critical flop in its day, director Roger Spottiswoode’s The Best of Times (1986) deserves a second life.

“American Beauty” isn’t saying the suburbs are bad or that chasing high school cheerleaders is okay—quite the opposite. The movie is looking to remind us of how blessed we are, what a miracle the American Dream is, that fathers matter, that family is everything, that men are created by God to protect women, and to appreciate what we have.

Peter O’Toole is in pure Movie Star mode. His energy and charisma are off the charts. His Irish accent is perfect. He’s utterly believable in every scene, right down to that final “Jaysus.”

Gladiator II’s biggest mistake is trying to remake the original Gladiator (2000) with a contrived story that lacks the original’s emotional power and thematic depth.

With Anora, Sean Baker has written, directed, and edited an engrossing character study that ranks among the best movies of this new century.

While Red One has a lot to offer Christmas lovers and Christmas movie lovers, sometimes it’s too much. Way too much.

While the original screenplay won a well-deserved Oscar, Witness is through-and-through a director’s film.

Here are two of what I call deep cuts — movies that are not quite classics, not quite famous, but still pretty wonderful in that way that takes you away. Sometimes that’s what we need. Especially during stressful times: an escape, a movie or two that transports us to a fantasyland where we can forget about real life for a few hours. Here are two that should hit the spot…

Vengeance is a remarkable movie—funny as hell, thrilling, moving, ridiculously intelligent,  and one of my favorites of this new century—one-hundred percent.

The best thing about Meet John Doe is that its message and themes remain timeless. Big business, self-dealing politicians, and elites snatching control of media outlets to manipulate, control, and silence everyday Americans…? Look around. Nothing’s changed, including the everyday decency of the normal, people who do the hard physical work that keeps our world turning.

Lorenzo’s Oil is a truly great movie, an emotional experience that might be better described as a family thriller than a family drama.

In 2020, a full 31 years after its theatrical release, director Rowdy Herrington’s Road House (1989) was broadcast across cable TV more than any other movie.