Downtown Owl – Tribeca 2023

Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater adapt Chuck Klosterman’s Reagan-era 1980s dark comedy, Downtown Owl, for the screen. The film, like Klosterman’s novel, takes place in a fictional North Dakota town. Funny enough, the Minneapolis area stands in for North Dakota in the adaptation. Anyway, the film takes place in 1984 just as a blizzard is about to hit the area. English teacher Julia Rabia (Lily Rabe) is one of Owl’s newest residents, having moved from…

"Downtown Owl – Tribeca 2023"

Vanessa Hudgens, Joshua Henry talk tick, tick…BOOM!

Vanessa Hudgens and Joshua Henry spoke with Solzy at the Movies earlier this week about the new Netflix film, tick, tick…BOOM! Netflix starts streaming the Lin-Manuel Miranda-directed film on November 19, 2021. How familiar were you with tick, tick…BOOM! when you got the script? Joshua Henry: Not too familiar. I had known that it was another Jonathan Larson piece before his big one, Rent. I was happy to find out as we got into the…

"Vanessa Hudgens, Joshua Henry talk tick, tick…BOOM!"

tick, tick…BOOM! Honors Jonathan Larson

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s feature directorial debut, tick, tick…BOOM!, honors the work of the late Rent creator and composer Jonathan Larson. I’m going to be completely honest. I went into this film without really being familiar with Jonathan Larson’s (Andrew Garfield) work. Well, aside from the famous song from Rent. However, tick, tick…BOOM! is a project that didn’t know anything about in terms of music or stage play. But anyway, that didn’t stop me from enjoying the…

"tick, tick…BOOM! Honors Jonathan Larson"

Bad Boys for Life Still Has Gas In The Tank

Bad Boys for Life reunites Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the Miami-set action-comedy and doesn’t stray too far from Bayhem. If you read nothing more, please know that there is only a mid-credits scene.  Outside of that, there is no scene at the end of the film. Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are back for what is being marketed as their last ride.  Will it actually be their last ride? …

"Bad Boys for Life Still Has Gas In The Tank"

Bandslam: Criminally Underrated after 10 Years

The music is still good in this flick but Bandslam remains criminally underrated after the film opened in theaters ten years ago. Bandslam is about a battle of the bands competition.  It’s “Texas High School football big” as Sa5m (Vanessa Hudgens) says.  The winning band gets a recording contract so its pretty big to say the least. Will Burton (Gaelan Connell) is starting off at a new school because his mom, Karen (Lisa Kudrow), recently…

"Bandslam: Criminally Underrated after 10 Years"

Second Act Can’t Overcome Cliches

Second Act has some promising moments but the comedy starring Jennifer Lopez falls into cliche-filled traps that are otherwise disappointing. Ozone Park Value Shop assistant manager Maya Vargas (Jennifer Lopez) enters her 43rd year of life by being passed over for a promotion.  It doesn’t matter how many innovative ideas she has because she does’t have the required college degree.  Does one need the necessary degree when their own record shows that they can do…

"Second Act Can’t Overcome Cliches"

Dog Days: A Crowd-Pleasing Comedy

Dog Days is the type of ensemble comedy that will chew and tug at your heart’s emotions. This is a very large ensemble cast.  There’s always a worry when it comes to a film of this nature that someone’s going to get considerable more time than others.  This does not appear to be the case.  Everyone gets what appears to be an equal amount.  In the vein of so many other ensemble films, many of…

"Dog Days: A Crowd-Pleasing Comedy"

DC Entertainment releases Adam West’s Powerless episode

In tribute to the late Adam West, DC Entertainment has released the unaired episode, “Win, Luthor, Draw,” that featured West as a guest star. Adam West, Batman to a generation of TV fans, passed away last week. One of his final roles was a fittingly comic guest role on NBC’s Powerless in an episode which never made it to air. DC All Access is proud to present this episode in its entirety for a limited…

"DC Entertainment releases Adam West’s Powerless episode"