How many times in the past 17 years since ‘Bad Boys II” have you heard, “they really need to make a Bad Boys III?” You can’t help but wonder after the string of disappointments bearing Will Smith’s name (“Gemini Man,” “Bright,” “Collateral Beauty,” “Concussion,” “Focus”) if he’s simply reviving old franchises to stay active. The original […]
This is a high-tech animation that the kids in the audience found at the screening I attended to be great fun. There are the obligatory scenes of puke, poop, and pee; but the story has substance in pitting a nerdy little peace-loving scientist against a macho master spy who always insists on doing his jobs alone
Two Time Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (“Hulk,” “Life of Pie”) seems drawn to technological advancements that aid in telling stories that otherwise couldn’t be told. When Lee focuses more on the story and less on trying to wow the audience (“Brokeback Mountain,” “Sense & Sensibility”), his films are typically better. “Gemini Man” has been rattling
Director Guy Ritchie is a peculiar choice to helm Disney’s live-action remake of the 1992 animated film “Aladdin.” Will Smith is an even more curious choice for the role of Genie, made iconic by the late Robin Williams. After dodging some initial controversy over Smith appearing in “blue-face,” Ritchie’s version, which runs about 40 minutes longer
Think of a Lifetime movie, but with Oscar winners and nominees. That’s what director David Frankel’s Collateral Beauty amounts to. If you have never seen a Lifetime film, it’s a network that produces movies that are often contrite, more focused on getting an emotion out of its audience, regardless of the means or accountability in
Director David Ayer is known for his hard hitting R rated films. Whether capturing authentic LAPD portrayals with Jake Gyllenhaal in “End of Watch” or trekking through muddy WWII with Brad Pitt in Fury. Ayer enters an unfamiliar territory of mainstream cinema, PG-13 territory. “Suicide Squad” is an organized chaotic mess of superheroes, meta humans,
Concussion lives or dies on how well the audience buys Smith’s African accent and portrayal of the doctor who discovered “Chronic traumatic encephalopathy” or CTE.
This is the first film Oscar nominated, mega-action star, Will Smith had opened outside of a summer release or a holiday since he became the go to guy for blockbusters. It seems After Earth, co-starring his son Jaden, knocked him down a few more notches then we realized. If the release date of late February