-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
It was a flawless premise in theory: an adaptation of a comic book series in which a team of low-level super-villains are pressed into going on deadly, off-the-books missions in exchange for time off for sort-of-good behavior, written and directed by the talented David Ayer (End of Watch, Fury) and starring a gaggle of A-listers, … Continue reading
It’s ironic and inevitable that after four movies a franchise about a super-spy/super-soldier with amnesia would start to develop a feeling of deja vu. Its predecessors have always been cutting edge, gritty, faced-paced, timely, and raw in their sensibilities; but with Jason Bourne the world seems to have caught up with the franchise. Its style has … Continue reading
There was a lot of concern when Justin Lin was announced as the director of Star Trek Beyond, and it was amplified when the action-oriented first trailer for it dropped. It turns that some new blood and a fresh perspective was exactly what the franchise needed. Free of the origin story requirements of Star Trek (2009) … Continue reading
Paul Feig’s relaunch of Ghostbusters was slimed by controversy from the get-go. Depending on whom you asked, it was A. Hollywood at its money-grabbing and creativity-bankrupt worst; B. a feminist broadsides of some sort; or C. some much-needed nostalgia subversion. Truth be told, it’s a little of each. It’s also what your average summertime megaplex fodder is supposed … Continue reading
Less pompous than Greystoke (1984) but more cartoonish than Disney’s 1999 animated version of the material, The Legend of Tarzan is pretty to look at but ultimately hollow and occasionally shoddy. This latest adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough’s pulp character hinges on a clever premise with a built-in conflict, mainly the early days of King Leopold II … Continue reading
A fun piece of throwaway cinema, The Shallows is a sleek, beautifully shot, and mostly satisfying thriller that plays it smart and simple, only faltering by opting for a schlocky climax. It’s not the new Jaws by any stretch of the imagination, but where that movie transcended genre, The Shallows cleverly plays with it. Blake Lively (Green Lantern, … Continue reading
You can tell there is a lot of heart and effort that went into the making of Warcraft, which makes its artistic failure as a would-be fantasy epic all the more depressing. Hackneyed and cliched, it tries to rise to level of the Lord of the Rings films but never quite gets off the ground. That … Continue reading
A gritty, cynical, hilarious, and mostly satisfying bit of L.A. noir, Shane Black’s The Nice Guys sees the bad boy writer-director make a slick return to his signature brand of buddy action comedy. It’s best described as a worthy successor to The Big Lebowski, an irreverent take on Chinatown, and Inherent Vice without the art-house pretension. The Nice … Continue reading
Let’s get the inevitable comparison out of the way first: Captain America: Civil War and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice both feature superheroes battling one another in stories posited as the inevitable fallout of the mass destruction they sometimes leave in their wake. However, Civil War does a far better job of it, and unlike its competitor it’s … Continue reading
Big, loud, and painted in broad strokes, Batman v. Superman is comic book opera opera in every sense — and not in a good way. In fact, it’s a soulless, dreary mess. It’s an exemplar of the worst excesses of screenwriter David S. Goyer (with some needed doctoring from Chris Terrio) and director by Zack Snyder … Continue reading
movie ink™ 