LONG LIVE THE KING. At the premiere of this entry in the Marvel franchise, the praise was universal and looked a little bit like how Get Out (2017) was received. Not only were both movies hailed as excellent genre examples, but critics and reporters also frequently pointed out how important they were in the aftermath … Continue reading Black Panther: Royal Rumble
UNITED WE STAND. DIVIDED WE FALL. This year has seen two epic superhero movies, crafted by the film studios of rivaling comic-book powerhouses Marvel and DC Comics. The first one, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, was generally scorned, while Captain America: Civil War is getting a lot of praise. In both films, we see … Continue reading Captain America Civil War: A Cinematic Universe About to Burst
IT’S A PLUNDERFUL LIFE. An unsuccessful pirate captain and his crew capture Charles Darwin who talks them into sailing to London for a contest that has a valuable prize… but Queen Victoria has threatened to execute every pirate. Another fabulous Aardman movie, this time in 3D, with a smooth blend of stop-motion clay and computer … Continue reading The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists
THE DEFINING CHAPTER. The dragon Smaug flies to Esgaroth to destroy the town, but greater challenges await in the shape of a coming battle for Lonely Mountain. The final part of this trilogy is the shortest film Peter Jackson ever made about the Middle-Earth, but maybe that’s because it is so completely dominated by that … Continue reading The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
BEYOND DARKNESS… BEYOND DESOLATION… LIES THE GREATEST DANGER OF ALL. On their journey to the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and the dwarves enter a mysterious forest… and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) confronts a dark power. The second chapter in the Hobbit franchise is an improvement on the first, darker in tone, with several engaging adventures … Continue reading The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
PREPARE TO GET ANNIHILATED. Ne’er-do-well Gary King (Simon Pegg) gathers his old friends for a pub crawl in their hometown of Newton Haven, little dreaming that they’ll get wrapped up in a global battle… Edgar Wright ends what he and trusted partner Pegg have labeled the “Cornetto Trilogy” (after Shaun of the Dead and Hot … Continue reading The World’s End
FROM THE SMALLEST BEGINNINGS COME THE GREATEST LEGENDS. Gandalf the wizard (Ian McKellen) convinces a hobbit, Bilbo (Martin Freeman), to join his party of 13 dwarves on a quest to reclaim a treasure that was stolen by a mighty dragon. Set sixty years before the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson’s grand return to … Continue reading The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
ALLY’S LOOKING FOR THE BEST EX OF HER LIFE. Ally Darling (Anna Faris) writes down a list of the 19 men she’s had sex with and hires her womanizing neighbor (Chris Evans) to find out which one is husband material. Sounds ludicrous? It is. This is another example where the tagline is infinitely more clever than … Continue reading What’s Your Number?
I had a little Office phase myself. For three and a half years, I was employed with a company that published free, weekly newspapers. The leadership was incompetent and insensitive to the needs of its staff and morale plummeted to the degree that a co-worker and I began to notice obvious similarities to The Office, … Continue reading The Office: A Boss from Hell
BIG COPS. SMALL TOWN. MODERATE VIOLENCE. Super cop Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is so good that he’s making the rest of the Met look bad; he’s transferred to a sleepy village where he stumbles upon a vast murder conspiracy. The Edgar Wright-Pegg duo followed up on their hit Shaun of the Dead (2004) with another largely hilarious comedy. … Continue reading Hot Fuzz
CLEANING DA FILTH FROM DA PM‘S HOOD. Obtuse rapper Ali G (Sacha Baron Cohen) is goaded into running for a seat in Parliament, but fails to realize that he has become a pawn in a conspiracy to unseat the Prime Minister (Michael Gambon). Cohen took his character from Da Ali G Show to the big … Continue reading Ali G Indahouse
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE. Writer Richard Curtis’s directing debut is one big, loveable mess, a romantic comedy with a huge cast of people who keep falling in love with each other. There are too many of them actually, the stories are unremarkable and they don’t always mix in a satisfying way. But there are … Continue reading Love Actually
