Over the years, spy films have gradually become louder, more violent and ironically less stealthy. The days of a well-dressed man named James Bond charming his way into a party and quietly taking out the villain’s minions without spilling his…
Breakthrough Movie Review: Weird Christianity, Weirder Timing
Who needs miracles, anyway? After all, Breakthrough is coming out at a time when just about everyone not only feels like they could use a miracle right about now, but almost all of them have the means through social media to broadcast their deserved woes. Here is a film framed and wired with Judeo-Christian principles as a trojan horse of supposedly enlightened messaging keen on both evangelizing the uninitiated and soothing the believers into further submission. This is Breakthrough, a film bent on preaching to the choir with emotional hand-wringing. It’s just a shame the sermon has only the trappings of substance or spiritual investigation.
The Kid Who Would Be King Movie Review: A family film with a sharp edge
In The Kid Who Would Be King, you will believe a 12-year-old boy and his band of friends—er, knights—can save Britain. And not just from a magical force of darkness or two, but also from the current divisive times that…
First Trailer for Steve McQueen’s “Widows” and Its All-Star Cast
Director Steve McQueen’s first film since 2013, Widows released its first trailer today, at last giving audiences a look at the all-star cast in action. The story, adapted by Gone Girl and Sharp Objects author Gillian Flynn is based upon…
Movie Review: The Mountain Between Us
Hany Abu-Assad’s The Mountain Between Us is Hatchet by way of Nicholas Sparks. A middling survival film that can’t decide if it wants to be grueling or glamorous, it puts its two good lookin’ movie stars in a fair amount…
Movie Review: Alien Covenant
There are effectively three films inside of Alien: Covenant, and each appeal to someone in it’s audience: A spiritual successor to Alien, a sequel to Prometheus, and a basic contemporary sci-fi horror movie. Each piece is successful on it’s own,…
How ‘Logan’ benefits from being a Self-Serious Superhero Movie
Despite contributing to an oversaturated market, Marvel and DC’s never-ending stream of superhero introductions (and reintroductions) cast an unmistakable spell. Last year saw the release of Deadpool, an ironic and cynical response to the superhero genre, as well as the…