Monthly Archives: January 2024

An over-the-top, violent and campy prologue sets us up for the all-star action romp that is “Argylle,” an espionage comedy from the fellow who unleashed the “Kingsman” franchise, Matthew Vaughn. Brawls and epic shoot-outs break out, droll action heroes and … Continue reading →

A lot of people warned about what might happen. But most of America shrugged those warnings off, only to turn on a TV and gape, in shock, at the attack on the United States capital by right wing extremists on … Continue reading →

Two hours and 19 minutes of all star action comedy. Ready or not, here we go.

One could swap the title to “Phobias” and change the studio branding to “Pixar” and Dreamworks’ “Orion and the Dark” would fit (somewhat) neatly into that Disney studio’s recent obsession with the metaphysical. A movie about being afraid of the … Continue reading →

“Deep Fear” isn’t a straight-up “Dead Calm” knockoff, despite the similarities in these waylaid-at-sea stories. It’s still about a sailboat hijacked by a person or persons the skipper stopped to rescue. The nautical props and “weapons” are going to be … Continue reading →

A body can go months at a time without seeing a crime thriller that DOESN’T have an obligatory “strip club scene” where a malefactor hangs out, where the cops, a detective or a relative of a missing person goes to … Continue reading →

There are a few things I really appreciated about “Suncoast,” writer-director Laura Chinn’s memoirish remembrance of the slow, wasting death of a sibling. Characters live through story arcs, reminding us of the hope that even the most lost among us … Continue reading →

“Out of Darkness” is a foundational myth horror tale, a grisly and grim narrative about a time when early humanity could first rightly refer to itself as “humanity.” In cinematic shorthand, this Scottish production is “Quest for Fire” meets “A … Continue reading →

“The Tiger’s Apprentice” is an action adventure fantasy for the elementary school-age movie audience, a two-fisted martial arts fighting film taking place in the real world of modern San Francisco, and not the mythical China of “Kung Fu Panda” or … Continue reading →

“Song of the South” is a patriotic and picaresque Vietnamese parable set just as the French occupation (“Protectorate,” they called it.) was winding down in Southeast Asia. A newly-orphaned but timid and coddled ten year-old comes of age on a … Continue reading →