Uncle Drew features some great basketball players having fun while drawing on the old George Bernard Shaw quote, “You don’t stop playing because you get old, you get old because you stop playing.” Once the ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 logo graces the screen, we know we’re in for some fun. The spoof documentary sets the tone of the film with a number of Basketball Hall of Fame cameos describing their experiences with Uncle Drew…
"Uncle Drew: A Fun Basketball Movie"Category: Movie Reviews
Ant-Man largely succeeds as a Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 2 installment because of the ever-delightful Paul Rudd. By opening the film in 1989 with Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) resigning from SHIELD in protest, Ant-Man declares its position within the MCU. Outraged by SHIELD’s attempt to replicate the Pym Particle, Pym declares they will never get his formula as long as he lives. The scene features an on-screen union between Howard Stark (John Slattery) and Peggy Carter…
"Ant-Man: Marvel Gets Small In Heist Comedy"
Howard the Duck is the single-worst film based on a Marvel Comics character to come into existence. A 70mm print screened during the 2018 installment of the Cinepocalypse Genre Film Festival. Aside from the sound in some places, it’s an otherwise impressive print. I cannot however say the same about the film. If you think Daredevil, Elektra, and the recent Fantastic Four movies were the worst Marvel has to offer, think again. What makes this…
"Howard the Duck: The Worst Marvel Film Ever"
Three Identical Strangers tells the crazy but true and sad story of Bobby Shafran, Eddy Galland, and David Kellman. The three of them were separated at birth when they were adopted by three different families. Bobby was sent off to live with the affluent Shafran family. Eddy went to the middle class Gallands. As for David, he went to live with the blue-collar Kellmans. All were adopted by Jewish families who had an older daughter living…
"Three Identical Strangers: Crazy, Sad, and True"
The Transtastic shorts program screened during Frameline on June 18, 2018, with a focus on people who are transgender and gender-nonconforming. A few prominent transgender people were front and center during the program, including actress Trace Lysette and Transparent producer Zachary Drucker. Happy Birthday, Marsha!: Written and directed by Reina Gossett and Sasha Wortzel, the narrative-documentary hybrid stars Tangerine’s Mya Taylor in the role of Marsha “Pay It No Mind” Johnson. The bulk of the short takes…
"Frameline 2018: The Transtastic Shorts"
It’s not that Sicario: Day of the Soldado is a lot of movie without exposition but that the film really lacks the presence of Emily Blunt. Blunt’s character, as you may recall, was forced to sign paperwork at the end of the first film. It makes perfect sense as to why her character, Kate Mercer, isn’t returning but it hurts the film. The only two women with any kind of prominence in Taylor Sheridan’s screenplay…
"Sicario: Day of the Soldado needed Emily Blunt"
Largely forgotten, The Hurricane Heist will go down in history as one of the worst films to have been released in 2018. A quick prologue introduces us to Will and Breeze Rutledge in Alabama during the height of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. They get traumatized forever by seeing their dad being killed instantly by a water tank. As the house collapses on top of them, there’s no time to mourn his loss because we cut to…
"The Hurricane Heist: One of 2018’s Worst Films"
Alone in the Game is a must-watch documentary that tells the story of the harsh realities that face LGBTQ athletes on a daily basis. When Missouri defensive end Michael Sam came out as gay, it was a game changer for not only college football but the entire sports world. When people think of football, it’s thought of as being a hyper-masculine sport. They don’t think of football players being gay. Sam’s coming out paved the…
"Frameline 2018: Alone in the Game"
Izzy Gets the F Across Town may mean well but the small indie comedy tends to be a bit of a mess. Mackenzie Davis does her best to carry the film in the titular role of Izzy but it’s not enough to keep the film going. Given where she is at the start of the film, it’s as if the film is the indie version of the classic comedy, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. We go from…
"Izzy Gets the F Across Town is messy"
Three years after the Indominus Rex caused chaos, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom raises the stakes with moral questions of ethical behavior. Bookended by Dr. Ian Malcolm in what amounts to an under-five minute cameo, the film is about what to do with these animals after geneticists have brought them back to life. Leave it to Malcolm to give his piece of mind while testifying in front of a U.S. Senate committee–using dialogue that, for the…
"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Raises The Stakes"