Note: the last two paragraphs of this review spoil the ending of the film. Caveat emptor. John Grisham’s 1989 novel A Time to Kill was rejected by major American publishers, ultimately getting a 5000-copy print run from Wynwood Press. When his second … Continue reading REVIEW: A Time to Kill (1996)
There is surely no horror franchise that typifies the 2000s so much as Saw. The series ran on an uninterrupted annual schedule from 2004 to 2010. A one-off revival, Jigsaw, failed to relaunch the films in 2017. Now actor/producer Chris … Continue reading REVIEW: Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)
When progressive or experimental films make unexpected breakthroughs in how to tell stories on screen, they are rightfully praised. Sometimes, however, it worth stepping back and also acknowledging quality mainstream work: films that do not reinvent or transform anything, but … Continue reading REVIEW: The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017)
FBI computer analyst J.J. Shaft (Jessie T. Usher) re-unites with a lifelong friend – an army veteran and recovering addict named Karim (Avan Jogia) – only for Karim to turn up dead in Harlem from a drug overdose. Suspecting foul … Continue reading REVIEW: Shaft (2019)
In the aftermath of the events of Avengers: Endgame, a grieving Peter Parker (Tom Holland) must cope with the death of his mentor as well as a gap of five years between dying along with half of the Earth’s population … Continue reading REVIEW: Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Vers (Brie Larson) is a Kree warrior sent to defend her civilization from the shape-shifting aliens known as Skrulls. Captured in combat, she escapes – only to find herself on mid-1990s Earth, a planet she is shocked to discover she … Continue reading REVIEW: Captain Marvel (2019)
Security consultant David Dunn (Bruce Willis) secretly boasts super-strength and is close to indestructible, and patrols the streets of Philadelphia in a hooded raincoat. When he tracks down serial killer Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) – a man with several … Continue reading REVIEW: Glass (2019)
“Pandora’s Box”, a technological device capable of seizing control of satellites and crashing them into the Earth, has been stolen. In an attempt to recover it, CIA agent Jane Marke (Toni Collette) enlists the presumed-dead former agent Xander Cage (Vin … Continue reading REVIEW: XXX: The Return of Xander Cage (2017)
When NYPD Detective John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson) investigates the killing of Trey Howard (Mekhi Phifer) by the rich, racist socialite Walter White Jr (Christian Bale), his case is torpedoed when the sole witness is intimidated into going into hiding. … Continue reading REVIEW: Shaft (2000)
Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) is school teacher suffering from retrograde amnesia. When she is involved in a car crash, she begins to experience flashbacks to an earlier, more violent life. Meanwhile Mitch Henessey (Samuel L. Jackson), a private detective hired … Continue reading REVIEW: The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
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