By Nick Maylor (***1/2) In a certain respect, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) is a film 42 years in the making. It’s been over four decades since the release of George Lucas’ original film and now at the culmination of the third trilogy, lots of loose ends were expected to be tied up.…
By John H. Foote (****) Did I ever think I would discuss Adam Sandler in the same sentence as the Academy Award? Did I ever think I would be comparing Sandler’s jittery, electrifying performance to the great seventies work of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro? Straight up, no I did not. Understand it is…
By John H. Foote (***) To begin, in this film in which Eastwood once again explores an underdog railing against authority, the nearly ninety-year-old two-time Oscar-winning Best Director has made a very good film, but not one that will be ever thought of as being among his greatest. That is not a putdown, just a…
By John H. Foote (****) The greatest films of divorce are often demanding, difficult films that have the courage to ask the audience not to take a side. Yet as great as An Unmarried Woman (1978), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Shoot the Moon (1982) are superb films, a side is usually taken, we are…
By John H. Foote (**) Adventure films are often dazzling visual treats for the audience. Consider the Indiana Jones tetralogy, beautiful films all, with splendid production design, exotic lavish locations, and constant motion driving the non stop narrative. Even if the film is more cerebral, such as John Houston’s soaring epic The Man Who Would…
By John H. Foote (***) Every once in a while a film slips by me, through the cracks as it will, and I end up catching up with it on Blu Ray to be very surprised. This is such a film. An original, striking, genuinely frightening horror film, the picture is anchored by a sensational…
By Nick Maylor The fourth episode of the Disney+ original The Mandalorian (titled “Sanctuary”) is directed by Bryce Dallas Howard and continues the story of the titular Mandalorian after he has rescued the child AKA (but not actually) “Baby Yoda” and searches for a planet where the two can stay under the radar from the…
By John H. Foote (*) Given my deep dislike for the Disney Studios and their “suits” one might think I am the wrong person to review their films. Believe it or not I am able to distance myself from the powers that be and be fair and impartial to all their films. While I loathe…
By Craig Leask A throwback to the classic whodunit murder mysteries of yesteryear, director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out has successfully resurrected the genre – dead corpse, creepy mansion and a handful of suspects, all with plausible motives. With an approach reminiscent of an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery the basic premise of Knives Out surrounds the…
By Nick Maylor (***) Netflix is going to be a major contender at next year’s Academy Awards with The Irishman, Marriage Story, and Dolemite is My Name being just a few of the studio’s major releases this year. Another film that is gaining significant praise (particularly for the performances of its two leads) is The…