That’s why American Underdog carries the kind of story we may never see again. Kurt Warner is a special individual and, as history shows, more than his athletic prowess. Fewer stories this past quarter-century were riper for cinematic celebration and fewer hero worship subjects were more deserving. Go ahead and lionize this man. He’s the real deal and he earned it.
Read MoreThe successes spring forth from the roller coaster of crowd reactions between cheers and tears that you yourself will undoubtedly witness (or share) at your own theater visit. Imagine if everything you eventually see was a protected surprise and that measurement goes through the multiplex roof even further. Top to bottom from a production standpoint and crowned with a smile from ear to ear, this is what big screen escapism and dream fulfillment looks like at the highest level.
Read MoreThough the nostalgic director has rightfully earned a carte blanche status from galactic success to make whatever he wants, it feels like Spielberg had not really challenged himself for the better part of the last two decades. Yet, here he is making his first musical with the energy of a man half or even a quarter of his age. Populated with fresh faces, sung with fiery voices, and varnished with spirited hues of toughness and beauty, his resulting West Side Story can win over the purists and cure those remake value worries. We (myself included) can put the memes away for this one.
Read MoreAlmost predictably, some folks are not going to key into the bold messages of King Richard. What’s cloying for some is exactly the rightful heft and positive intentions for others. Even if the movie is too long in its gradual sculpture of its future stars, the movie means to inspire and has the perfect popular subjects for celebration to do just that. King Richard will mean something, and that’s the greater success than filmmaking. There’s too much good truth to share, both in the biographical department and in the familial saga of prime life lessons. Once again, passing on it all would be a mistake.
Read MoreReadying its eager and loose dramatic license, the opening message of The Harder They Fall begins with “While the events of this story are fictional…” and changes to proclaim “These. People. Existed.” fading in one word at a time with those table-slamming periods. Consider that an emphatic shout to be heard that is louder than any broken bone or gunshot that follows in this Netflix release. The indignation seething from this movie is warranted and gladly received.
Read MorePushing new discipline, they realigned their creative engine to strip the rote and antiquated character’s foundation back down to its very studs. Progressive change was needed for a new era of geopolitical influences and a new leading man who favored toughness over suaveness. Cinematic dalliances that burned hot, moved with excitement, and extinguished themselves quickly were given depth that was previously rare or entirely dismissed.
Read MoreThe answers to those measured questions are what makes Surge starring the award-winning Ben Whishaw so alarming and downright terrifying. Set over the course of just under two days in London and shot guerilla-style with handheld cameras that weave through the crowds and shifting locations, Surge careens through one man’s unpredictable downward spiral and the isolated damage it causes. These kinds of movies are certainly not for everyone, but this one is a fascinating test of stamina and understanding.
Read MoreEven if the advice is only spoken for a moment amid flurries of exposition and martial arts melee, neither versions of those breaths feel wasted in this new Marvel Studios entry. And does this movie ever breathe! In this sensational origin story, we gulp and we gasp with every kinetic huff and puff of our heroes and villains embroiled in turmoil and combat. I, for one, dig that simplistic focus on the voluntary and involuntary ways Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings draws in its oxygenated energy.
Read MoreCall this a crude cinematic question as well as a question of evolved sensibilities, but how do you make shiny things and places scary? Horror stories typically thrive on the dirty, dingy, and grotesque as instinctual triggers. It’s harder to get that same effect in a setting of clean poshness. The long-distance sequel Candyman has an answer to that and it parallels putting truth to the societal cleansing castigated by the movie itself.
Read MoreOnce again, what’s winsome and bodacious in Free Guy begins with Ryan Reynolds. From Van Wilder and Deadpool and everything hit-and-miss in-between, he combines naivety, enthusiasm, and dorkiness to a vitality level that is nearly second to none among his comedian peers. Ryan’s verbal gift-of-gab has long been legendary, and his go-for-broke physical comedy skills on top of that mouth are the true, full commitment to the bit.
Read MoreWho’s going to make it or not? Who or what else is going to show up? What actors will make the most of their arbitrary characters? What improves from the grossly reviled 2016 movie? Most of all, as the action piles on, keep losing chips on trying to guess WTF is going to happen next. The pitch is clear. Come to The Suicide Squad and place your bets for the roller coaster experience that awaits. All of that warped glee equals the energy brought forth by James Gunn’s resuscitated and hyper-juiced sequel.
Read MoreRafe Spall’s Teddy shares a lovely line to his best girl Leanne, played by Zahra Newman, towards the beginning of Long Story Short. He says “I love you more than I did yesterday and not as much as I will tomorrow.” I adore that line. It speaks with such intentional optimism. If only we all lived our lives as honestly and as purposefully as that little mantra. If you see sweetness in that gracious sentiment, there’s much more where that came from in the romance at the center of this little Aussie VOD gem written and directed by actor Josh Lawson.
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