A trend that’s becoming increasingly more popular comes in the form of longer runtimes. Sometimes they’re necessary while other times it’s just pointless blather. For a movie such as Den of Thieves to come in with such a hefty runtime (140 minutes), I immediately cringed. How long does a run of the mill cops and …
Category: Review
Time for a Reel 12 STRONG review
September 11, 2001 was a day that shook America to its core by bringing war and unrest to its doorsteps. “Never here” we mistakenly thought. That day changed EVERYTHING. There are so many stories of various levels of heroism that have yet to be heard. One such story that hadn’t seen been given a large …
Time for a Reel THE COMMUTER review
Liam Neeson’s career, what can you say? One thing that you can say is that he often finds himself in danger. Thankfully he always has a particular set of skills to solve the problem at hand. Even though his life or death challenges are becoming increasingly unfathomable, Neeson seems beat the odds both on the …
Time for a Reel INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY review
We kick off the new year with a familiar story. The Insidious franchise has managed to stay relevant enough to garner continuous deeper plot explorations. Labeling the additional movies as sequels or even prequels would be incorrect. Blumhouse has taken a very interesting approach with the supernatural horror franchise. Rather than a linear continuation that …
Time for a Reel THE SHAPE OF WATER review
Guillermo del Toro has always kept viewers guessing. From one movie to the next, you never know what you’re going to get with him. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) is widely seen as his best work so far. Not everyone can get behind his unique visions but 2017 might prove to be different. Could The Shape of …
Time for a Reel STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI review
“Don’t let anyone spoil this…” That’s the latest message the folks over at Walt Disney Pictures is broadcasting. Is this a genuine plea of benevolence or just a manipulative marketing tool? I’ll let readers answer that question for themselves after seeing Star Wars: The Last Jedi. As I am one of the fortunate individuals to …
Time for a Reel LAST FLAG FLYING review
Everybody Wants Some!! (2016), Boyhood (2014), School of Rock (2003) and Dazed and Confused (1993 – all critically acclaimed movies by director Richard Linklater. With the exception of Boyhood, Linklater relies heavily on comedy to help tell his stories and that strategy has been very successful thus far. Now he’s working with arguably his most …
Time for a Reel THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS review
Did you know that the famed novella, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, is actually a shortened version of its original title? A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas was the original title published in December of 1843. That’s more of a synopsis than a title. And in a similar fashion, at …
Time for a Reel JUSTICE LEAGUE review
Disney changed the cinematic landscape with their commitment to creating a connected franchise with no foreseeable end in sight. We can all agree that the Marvel Cinematic Universe IS the gold standard. More recently, Universal Pictures attempted to resurrect their once-famed horror collection, but in a directly connected way, with The Mummy (2017). The reboot …
Time for a Reel THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI review
Let’s start with this. Have you watched the trailer for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri yet? You’ll see a familiar dry sarcastic humor that director, writer Martin McDonagh included in his first two movies. In Bruges (2008) and Seven Psychopaths (2012) were both pleasant surprises filled with comedy, violence and overall solid plots. Intriguing characters …