Movies with music written by Joseph Trapanese
Allegiant exemplifies what happens when a book or movie exists solely for the purposes of placating fans and maintaining a revenue stream. Craft and originality are swapped out for familiarity and sameness. Plot turns into a regurgitation of not only...
U.S. Release Date: 2016-03-18
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Science Fiction/Adventure
Director: Robert Schwentke
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Zoe Kravitz, ...
I suppose it would be fair to characterize Earth to Echo as an homage to E.T. Or at least I assume that's what director Dave Green and screenwriter Henry Gayden were going for: a gentle throw-back to the kinder sorts of science fiction films of t...
U.S. Release Date: 2014-07-02
MPAA Rating: "PG"
Genre: SCIENCE FICTION/ADVENTURE
Director: Dave Green
Cast: Teo Halm, Astro, Reese C. Hartwig, ...
In style, if not substance, The Greatest Showman is reminiscent of the Disney film, Newsies. Like the 1992 live-action musical, The Greatest Showman comes to life when the characters are singing or dancing but struggles through the sequences i...
U.S. Release Date: 2017-12-20
MPAA Rating: "PG"
Genre: Musical/Drama
Director: Michael Gracey
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, ...
In my review of Divergent, the opening installment of the four-movie series of which Insurgent is the second part, I wrote the following: "As an entry point into a new world, Divergent provides a worthwhile portal. This is the kind of reality an...
U.S. Release Date: 2015-03-20
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Content)
Genre: SCIENCE FICTION/ADVENTURE
Director: Robert Schwentke
Cast: Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts, Miles Teller, ...
True-life stories of heroism and sacrifice are commonplace; good movies about those stories aren’t. Only the Brave recounts the tale of The Granite Mountain Hotshots and the challenges they faced when fighting wildfires during the years leadi...
U.S. Release Date: 2017-10-20
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity, Sexual Content, Disturbing Images)
Genre: Adventure/Drama
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Cast: Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, ...
Underwritten yet nevertheless enjoyable on a visceral level, Project Power is the latest Netflix film to use a familiar template: start with an intriguing premise, sign a bankable star (or two), employ an exotic (or at least non-standard) locat...
U.S. Release Date: 2020-08-14
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Drugs)
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback, ...
Wow. For those with strong constitutions, The Raid 2 offers one of the most intense motion picture experiences available; it may also be the most violent movie ever to be released into theaters. It's somewhat astonishing that writer/director Garet...
U.S. Release Date: 2014-04-04
MPAA Rating: "R" (Extreme Violence, Sexual Content, Nudity)
Genre: ACTION/THRILLER
Director: Gareth Evans
Cast: Iko Uwais, Arifin Putra, Tio Pakusodewo, ...
When it comes to The Raid: Redemption, there are no pretentions. Pure and simple, this is about violence. As we used to say, "kickin' ass and takin' names." The body count is ridiculously high. Not three-digit high, but getting close. Yet, because ...
U.S. Release Date: 2012-03-23
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: ACTION
Director: Gareth Evans
Cast: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Doni Alamsya, ...
Stuber is as bland and generic a mismatched buddy action-comedy as you’re likely to find. The screenplay, credited to Tripper Clancy (no relation to Tom), is less a fully formed story than a series of checked boxes. Movies of this sort norma...
U.S. Release Date: 2019-07-12
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Content)
Genre: Action/Comedy
Director: Michael Dowse
Cast: Dave Bautista, Kumail Nanjiani, Natalie Morales, ...