Search for 2021

There are three things going on in The Beta Test. One works exceptionally well. One works okay (although it will fare better with “insiders” than “regular folks”). And the other pretty much fails. It’s a mixed bag although the short ...

Bliss is one of those Twilight Zone/Outer Limits-type stories that, when presented at a high level, sounds compelling. With its blend of existential science fiction and character-based romance, it would seem to be as close to a can’t-miss pr...

U.S. immigration laws are filled with incongruities and loopholes. In Blue Bayou, writer/director/star Juston Chon addresses one of the least-known and most egregiously unfair: that a young child adopted from a foreign country, even if his/her...

Boogie tells a familiar story – that of a promising high school athlete attempting to prove that he has what it takes to make it in the big time – with a notable twist. Boogie, real name Alfred Chin (Taylor Takahashi), isn’t the “avera...

At the time of its October 1992 release, I wrote the following about the original Candyman (which was directed by Bernard Rose based on a story by Clive Barker): “Candyman is one of the most intelligent and chilling movies to grace the scree...

Writer/director Paul Schrader makes moody, low-budget movies about isolated people. While his highly regarded reputation as a screenwriter is deserved (he wrote, among other titles, Raging Bull and Taxi Driver), his directorial resume is checke...

For the better part of seven years, the Russo Brothers (Joe & Anthony) have been marooned in the MCU, crafting four films: Captain America: Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. For their encore, ...

It’s unclear why the filmmakers felt we needed another Cinderella adaptation, especially one with such an amateurish, made-for-TV aesthetic. It’s not as if there hasn’t been a recent one – Kenneth Branagh’s live-action version is only...

The fairest way I can describe Coming 2 America is to say that it’s not as bad as I feared it might be. Damning with faint praise, indeed. My expectations were based on two factors: (1) the original movie, Coming to America, was an amusing-b...

Beware the third installment of any series. For even some of the best-conceived and executed franchises, the third time is often not the charm. It’s when things start to fall apart. It’s when ideas dry up. It’s when the creators, writers...