MOVIE REVIEW: Here Today

Within the movie, the themes all surround help that comes from lifted spirits found in many walks of life, both personal and professional. On the performance side, the material is solid enough to matter more than mere bits, yet light enough to spread its wealth of charm. No one is scene-stealing because no one has to, and that’s quite a tall order with the presence of Tiffany Haddish sharing the billing. Everyone is making the same music, so to speak, with Billy conducting every measure.

MOVIE REVIEW: Without Remorse

That gamer friend of yours won’t be wrong. They will be steering you in the right direction with the arrival of the red-blooded Michael B. Jordan’s John Kelly, the man who would become the notorious John Clark. Frankly, we’ve had enough nerds, professors, and analysts, even if Jack Ryan was a former Marine. Talk first and postulate a strategy? Hell no. Without Remorse calls in the asskicker with more shades of gray than all the paint samples at The Home Depot.

2021, 4 STARS, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanApril 30, 2021Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Mitchells vs. The Machines

At first glance, be it the poster of car-riding mayhem or a closer look at the textured exaggerations of the animation style amid the slick futuristic adversaries, a title like The Mitchells vs. The Machines from Netflix likely evokes shades of Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World stirred with a scoop of Clark Griswold-like shenanigans. That’s a fair read, yet there’s, of course, more to it than that. Believe it or not, there’s some finger-wagging and heart-affirming family truthfulness within the zany scribbles.

2021, 4 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanApril 27, 2021Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Mortal Kombat

2021’s new Mortal Kombat, debuting simultaneously in reemerging theaters and on HBO Max April 23rd, is a catechism of created clout. It passes tonal tests and achieves feats of action strength to renew and amplify the original zest powered by that inescapable theme song that evaporated from a bad sequel nearly 25 years ago. Bolstered by a commitment to build a mythology beyond the button-smashing combos, Mortal Kombat should ensnare new and old fans alike.

2021, 4 STARS, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanApril 23, 2021Mortal KombatComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Nobody

Our former schlub begins punching, shooting, stabbing, plotting, huffing, and puffing through an escalating network of Russian mobsters. Bob Odenkirk puts his 53-year-old self through two years of training in the hands to become a polo-shirted wraith of wanton violence. In between fights, Odenkirk’s graveled voice and line delivery pushes the severity of his morals and mindset to match his fists and trigger finger. He’s simply awesome and owns this movie.

2021, 4 STARS, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanMarch 22, 2021Nobody, Bob OdenkirkComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Zack Snyder's Justice League

Give the determined and reinvigorated 300 and Watchmen director four-hours, extra millions, and full creative control and you get this kind of beefy result. Zack Snyder’s Justice League builds the saga both the audiences and characters deserved four years ago. Nearly every artistic and technical layer moves with a different beat and flourish. Even with the problematic precedent this whole odyssey set into motion from a fan outrage/support standpoint, this new result is a positive testament to what this second attempt means for and earns both the creators and the consumers.

4 STARS, 2021, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanMarch 15, 2021Justice League, Zack SnyderComment

SHORT FILM REVIEW: Batman: Dying is Easy

The medium of movies fits the swelling urge to be big and loud. They are sensory explosions we love, but that only goes so far in that endless style vs. substance debate. No matter the noise or spectacle, in this critic’s opinion, story and character are what secure success the most. The crowdfunded Batman: Dying is Easy is precisely that example. The short film from Sean and Aaron Schoenke of Bat in the Sun Productions nails its characters without overplaying spectacle. That’s likely a lecture that we may very well revisit this very week with a certain hotly anticipated director’s cut fanning all the fanboy flames in sight.

2021, 4 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, SHORT FILMS, Social Media, StreamingDon ShanahanMarch 12, 2021Batman: Dying is EasyComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Raya and the Last Dragon

But the “lies” work because memorable stories dazzle and impress eyes and hearts at the same time. Nestled in a completely foreign realm of magic and myth, the real-life parallels woven into the high fantasy of Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon couldn’t ring louder or truer if it stole every bell in the record-holding Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. The movie hits the premium tier of Disney+ on March 5th.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Map of Tiny Perfect Things

For the impressionable young woman and clearly smitten guy, played by Freaky’s outstanding Kathryn Newton and future West Side Story cast member Kyle Allen, all hope is far from lost after this first unified encounter. They get to do this all over again. Playing in the self-aware Groundhog Day and Palm Springs pond, their Mark and Margaret are stuck in a temporal loop, repeating the same sunny Alabama spring day that ends with the hints of a cleansing thunderstorm at midnight that never comes before the alarm clock awakens the restarted day.

2021, 4 STARS, Home Media, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEW, Streaming, Video on DemandDon ShanahanFebruary 12, 2021The Map of Tiny Perfect ThingsComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Judas and the Black Messiah

Director Shaka King and his co-writer Will Berson, both prior specialists of television, have penned and lensed an appropriately audacious feature film debut that deserves reverence and reaction. Through it all, there is tangible grizzled inspirational force to watching the agitators humanize and refine their plight. To hell with any “product of its era talk” because this is a crusade that many will cite as ongoing today with much of the same potency. Taking much deserved latitude, Judas and the Black Messiah does not beat around a single bush with where the antagonistic blame belongs.

2021, 4 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanFebruary 12, 2021Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Supernova

Harry Macqueen’s sophomore feature film takes its name from the celestial phenomenon of “the explosion of a star in which the star may reach a maximum intrinsic luminosity one billion times that of the sun.” We even watch the far off flicker of one occurring pre-credits. “Maximum intrinsic luminosity” meaning peak essential brightness, eh? Yes, that can aptly describe the very earthly power of Supernova’s loving relationship and the brimming personalities united in that bond.

2020, 2021, 4 STARS, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, Streaming, Video on DemandDon ShanahanFebruary 4, 2021Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Ultimate Playlist of Noise

There is a small delight many viewers may share with Marcus, the main character of Hulu’s The Ultimate Playlist of Noise played by emerging actor Keean Johnson of Midway. This writer is one of them. Marcus’s narration brings up his enjoyment watching the facial expressions and body language of people hearing any array of sounds. Be it directly or voyeuristically, he’s astounded and inspired by the captivation seen among those listeners. He’s right. Try it yourself.