The only reason a new release hits theaters in early January, is because the studio — Universal in this case — has lost all hope in the product and is dumping it among flashier awards contenders in a platform release. “The 355” is such a film. Sure, it has an all-star cast, two of which […]
There is a clever premise to this action thriller: It’s about “finding things that don’t want to be found.” Little references to this pop up throughout the story, always in different contexts, a testament to the skillful work of director Martin Campbell and writer Richard Wenk. The story begins a little murky, jumping around from Viet Nam, Bucharest,
This is a kung fu action movie like you’ve never seen before, most likely. Three middle-aged men who had special status in their youth for being the chosen of their master teacher, (“the unbeatable Paper Tigers) feel bound to defend the honor of their idol after he has died, despite the fact that they have not
John Kelly is an elite Navy Seal whose home is invaded one evening, and although the intruders were not able to kill him, they did kill his wife. Wounded, John manages to kill most of them in retaliation, but one gets away. He realizes this is related to a top-secret operation in Aleppo, Syria he was participated
If you’re curious how the pandemic has affected the quality of some upcoming films, “Vanquish” is a good example of a bad one. The likelihood of a film like “Vanquish” getting a theatrical run or even warranting a review by critics would be slim to none if things were back to normal. The low budget
Netflix’s first action flick of the new year opens with an explicative “this,” explicative “that,” explicative “everything,” covered by a barrage of gunfire intended to bait the mindless action movie fan on the end of their remote. If you remember that terrible Anthony Hopkins exorcism film called “The Rite” (2011), it’s the same director. Mikael
Film critic turned director Rod Lurie’s latest film “The Outpost” is based on CNN Reporter Jake Tapper’s book by the same name. It opens with quotes from military leaders regarding the unique dangers of this part of Afghanistan, background notes about time and place, title credits, the names of every character on screen, location credits,
In the time of Corona, even film critics have to look at movies and entertainment differently. Not only has new content been scarce, but anything that provides a few hours of distraction is likely to find less scrutiny. Netflix is the real winner during the pandemic, with over 15 million new subscribers and “Extraction” being
The last decent Michael Bay movie was Transformers (2007). Since then the action director has delivered a buffet of discardable sequels and ornamental Wal-Mart shelf one-offs. Up to now, everything was done under the studio system, and while it’s true the 2013 Pain & Gain (based on a very violent true story) was an attempt
Within three minutes of the first frame, the word Avenger is used. 21 Bridges is the first film Black Panther himself Chadwick Boseman has led since putting on the spandex. The directors of Avengers Endgame, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, are also producers on the film. Brian Kirk makes his directorial film debut after a long