Review: ‘The Tomorrow War’ is Just Style Over Substance

The science fiction genre has always been partial to telling stories about ordinary, blue-collar men in new situations and new worlds. But unlike Chris McKay’s The Tomorrow War, they all contained a unique flair or a unique story: Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers was a subtle satire about the dangers of war aside from its gaudy visuals, Independence Day drew people in for its promise of aliens and guns, but people loved the heartwarming performance from Will Smith, and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie perfectly captured Douglas Adams’ story with agreeable campiness. The Tomorrow War, where Chris Pratt plays an ex-military high school teacher who travels through time to fight aliens, tries to play out like all of these films, but ultimately fails.

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Review: ‘Cruella’ Doesn’t Disappoint, Surprisingly

Live-action reboots of animated classics have been all the rage lately. Disney in particular found its sweet spot with them, a cash cow that produces a comical amount of box office gold with a simple flick of the wrist. Reimagining these well-loved properties appeals to both new generations of kids who have easy access to streaming content, as well as to the older crowd who place ridiculous sentimental worth on the stories and their characters. But the blueprint is stale. These films typically follow the source material to a T to not offend the fans who aren’t always agreeable to change.

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Review: ‘Army of the Dead’ May Be Zack Snyder’s Most Fun Film

In the opening credits of Zack Snyder’s newest feature Army of the Dead, you can nearly feel the director’s giddy smile stretching across the hedonistic melee. In Las Vegas, flesh-eating zombies are beginning to outnumber the casinos. And they’re consuming unsuspecting tourists just as quickly. Cannibalistic showgirls prowl for prey. Slot-machine junkies bundling up their remaining pittance dodge the newly infected. A dimwitted Elvis impersonator, wig askew, looks blankly over the carnage as the real Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas” plays in the background the zany bloodshed. It’s the rare instance where a film’s climax occurs in the first few minutes.

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Review: ‘Mortal Kombat’ is Ultimately a Win for the Audience

There are few certainties in life: death, taxes, and the fact that live action movies based on video games are terrible. Aside from Detective Pikachu, the Sonic movie, and the original Mortal Kombat movie, that is. Paul W.S. Anderson’s biggest masterpiece, based on the highly successful fighting game, might not be the best of the lot, but since its release in 1995, it has set the bar pretty high for adaptations that embrace and build upon its source material due to how silly and self-aware it was, like the game. Continue reading “Review: ‘Mortal Kombat’ is Ultimately a Win for the Audience” →

Review: ‘Thunder Force’ Can’t Be Saved From its Mediocrity

There’s always been something fun about superheroes, both the idea of abruptly gaining special abilities and becoming superior to everyone else and the idea of celebrating that specialness by putting on colorful spandex and running around saving people from evil. Despite this, the pure superhero comedy is comparatively rare. While we have shows and movies making fun of power fantasies, this can sometimes make them less thrilling, usually looping back to a straightforward approach in the end. Continue reading “Review: ‘Thunder Force’ Can’t Be Saved From its Mediocrity” →

Review: ‘Bad Trip’ is One Big Oddly Wholesome Prank

I’m not gonna lie – I absolutely love Adult Swim’s cult absurdist comedy series The Eric Andre Show. There’s just something magical about some guy pretending to have a talk show and trolling both celebrities and normal people, and the iconic memes he spawned are even better. When I heard he was producing a film that was one long version of one of his prank segments, I got extremely excited. Continue reading “Review: ‘Bad Trip’ is One Big Oddly Wholesome Prank” →

Review: ‘Coming 2 America’ is a Missed Opportunity Riddled With Sequel-itis

Let’s party like it’s 1989. Literally. Much in the way that Bill & Ted Face the Music arrived thanks to Keanu Reeves and his cultural upswing, the sequel to the classic film Coming to America comes on the heels of Eddie Murphy’s triumphant return in his recent roles. The feel-good vibes of the first film permeate Murphy’s return as Prince Akeem. Continue reading “Review: ‘Coming 2 America’ is a Missed Opportunity Riddled With Sequel-itis” →

Review: ‘Tom and Jerry’ is the Latest Live-Action Film Saving Animation From its Own Creativity

Be thankful for small favors. 2021’s reimagining of Tom and Jerry does not reimagine the famous cartoon cat-and-mouse duo as photorealistic CGI charaters. Though the movie isn’t fully animated, it avoids the uncanny valley of the Alvin & the Chipmunks movies or Tim Hill’s Garfield. Instead, it portrays a live-action New York City where they and other animals are rendered as 2D cartoons. Continue reading “Review: ‘Tom and Jerry’ is the Latest Live-Action Film Saving Animation From its Own Creativity” →

Review: ‘Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar’ is a Wonderful, Chaotic Experience

It’s hard to believe that Bridesmaids, one of the funniest movies ever made in my opinion, is 10 years old. I watched the film with my parents around five or six years ago, around the time I first watched SNL and instantly recognized Kristen Wiig from it and remembered I loved everything about it. The Bridesmaids powerhouse pair, Wiig alongside ex-Groundlings star Annie Mumolo, are back now, with Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, a new comedy celebrating female friendship in the same way as the prequel. Continue reading “Review: ‘Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar’ is a Wonderful, Chaotic Experience” →

Review: It’s Hard to Understand What Exactly is Going On in ‘Bliss’

In the press notes for his new movie Bliss, I Origins director Mike Cahill states that it’s “your typical sci-fi story, but it’s also a love story, but it’s also a father-daughter story at the same time.” That is probably as good and as efficient a summary as you are going to find for this sometimes engaging but wholly frustrating and incomplete Amazon Prime release. Starring the always-appealing Owen Wilson (who unfortunately never says “wow” in this movie) and Salma Hayek, Bliss is an unusual cinematic journey, in that has a decent premise and story but slowly descends into a strange rough patch-filled madness that even the cast and crew themselves don’t seem to understand. Continue reading “Review: It’s Hard to Understand What Exactly is Going On in ‘Bliss’” →