DUNE Review

Director Denis Villenueve and an Expansive Cast Translate Frank Herbert's 1965 Sci-Fi Masterpiece into a Digestible First Half of a Story That Immerses if not Invests.

HALLOWEEN KILLS Review

David Gordon Green Follows-Up his 2018 Re-Boot of the Iconic Horror Franchise with a Middle Chapter that is Messy, Unfocused, and Brutal but not Very Scary.

NO TIME TO DIE Review

Daniel Craig's James Bond Swan Song is Everything a Fan of the Series Could Want from A Spy Thriller and Often Times...More.

VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE Review

Andy Serkis Takes Over Directing Duties in this Sequel to the Surprise 2018 Smash that Doubles Down on all the Worst Parts of its Predecessor.

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS Review

The Introduction of the Latest Hero to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a Rousing and Aesthetically Beautiful Underdog Story Until it Isn't.

TROLLS WORLD TOUR Review

The Trolls franchise has had a somewhat varied journey in my collective memory as things began with hesitation at the concept alone though interest was piqued after Justin Timberlake released the ultimate feel-good summertime jam in that final, peaceful summer of 2016 with "Can't Stop the Feeling". Maybe this would be some kind of cool, animated riff on a musical with remixes of modern and classic songs as overseen by JT; something that was for the children, but made by one of the biggest pop stars of their parents childhood. Then came that November when all I remember about trying to cobble together a review was the fact I was writing about Trolls as I watched the Presidential election descend into madness. I gave the original film a straight-up-the-middle two and a half stars and thought of it essentially as colorful, but slight. It was fate that would have my wife and (three year-old at the time) daughter discover the movie some months later and as young children do my daughter latched onto Trolls just as I had Robin Hood some twenty-plus years prior and naturally decided to watch it on repeat until there was no other choice but for the characters to become endearing, the versions of the songs they sang to become the new normal and the weirdness of the world in which it existed to no longer feel strange or far-fetched, but more like home. We bought the soundtrack, we watched the Netflix animated series, and we anxiously awaited the sequel.