MOVIE REVIEW: Road House

If you’re “Crazy for Swayze,” there’s no beating the mullet-ed original, no matter how ripped the 43-year-old, six-foot tall blue-eyed Californian looks before us. On the other hand, if you’re the garish action junkie, you are the larger majority targeted for this new incarnation. This Road House trades outdoor tai chi and sloppy barroom brawling for lightning-quick and bone-cracking mixed martial arts panache. Apply that doubled brutality to Gyllenhaal’s charisma, and one hand washes the other in sweat, sea water, and blood.

2024, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanMarch 19, 2024Road House, Doug Liman, Jake GyllenhaalComment

SHORT FILM REVIEW: Ghosted

It doesn’t take a long time to leave a first impression. That understanding statement can be said in the film world as well as in the universe of relationships. From tiny human stories to the biggest blockbusters, most often the first five minutes of a movie set its tone. You can feel if you’re going to like the time you’ve committed to spend. The same can be said for the real-life “Meet Cute” moment of a first date. The short film Ghosted from writer-director Keith Black presents a first impression in both those areas.

2024, 2 STARS, MOVIE REVIEW, SHORT FILMS, StreamingDon ShanahanFebruary 9, 2024Ghosted, Keith BlackComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Restore Point

Ideas are cool, but they need more expanse to really mature. Solid screenplays creating potent implications or gripping conflicts must execute that demand. Restore Point lays out such boosts, but drives more around the bigger picture rather than through it. Be that as it may, the intriguing neo-noir mystery at its core remains worth the effort and attention you can give.

2024, 3 STARS, Foreign Film, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanFebruary 8, 2024Restore Point, foreign film, Czech RepublicComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Upgraded

Far too much of Upgraded is hampered by all of the pretentious insider business schemes sullying romantic potential. After fits and spurts, our two would-be lovebirds don’t get a proper date night adventure until the 75-minute mark and– for an R-rated movie rife with F-word slingers– it’s a lukewarm one at best in the sparks department.

2024, 2 STARS, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanFebruary 8, 2024Upgraded, Archie Renaux, Camila Mendes, Carlson YoungComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Molli and Max in the Future

Without looking, you would think the two titular romantic prospects were strolling through autumnal city parks wearing cozy knit sweaters and sipping cups of hot or cold refreshment. It’s when you open your eyes that perspectives radically change for Molli and Max in the Future because there’s not a tree or stitch of wool in sight. Instead, the last three words of the film's title come into play. Our two will-they/won’t-they lovebirds are two intergalactic citizens crossing spacefaring paths in a future stocked with aliens, demigods, and advanced technology.

MOVIE REVIEW: Society of the Snow

Society of the Snow is what this writer calls a “thank your lucky stars” movie. It depicts the kind of true story experience that is frighteningly unfathomable to comprehend. You watch it constantly trying to determine what you would do in the characters’ places and reach an overwrought point where all you can do is, hence the nickname, “thank your lucky stars” you didn’t have to go through what you saw on-screen echoing history. The survival you watch fuels and trumps your own.

2023, 4 STARS, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanDecember 28, 2023Society of the Snow, J.A. Bayona, Netflix, Michael GiacchinoComment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Boys in the Boat

Nonetheless, that’s where The Boys in the Boat, the latest satiny period piece directed by George Clooney, hopes to rekindle old pride, honor, and excitement. Boosted by inspirational history and adapted from Daniel James Brown’s 2013 bestseller, Clooney’s film cannot push back the entire predominant stereotype described earlier, but it can offer a scrappy team of bourgeoisie to root for and showcase the dauntless fortitude to perform the marginalized sport itself.

2023, MOVIE REVIEW, Home Media, StreamingDon ShanahanDecember 19, 2023The Boys in the Boat, George Clooney, Joel Edgerton, Callum TurnerComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Napoleon

Shockingly and woefully, Joaquin Phoenix does not achieve a single one of those aforementioned personality traits of Napoleon Bonaparte to any compelling degree. You read that right– not a single one of them. There’s no sweeping speech destined for an Oscar nomination clip that wins over citizens, soldiers, or us viewers. Big political ideas pop without sparks. The fireworks and cunning strategy never make it off the battlefield, and any legendary swagger is reduced to the snivels of a lazy and insecure cuckold.

2 STARS, 2023, Home Media, Streaming, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanNovember 23, 2023Napoleon, Ridley Scott, Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Apple TV+Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Maestro

To say Bradley Cooper threw himself into his work is an understatement. He is a marvel to behold. The actor was operating with a spot-on imitation of Bernstein’s vocal annunciations, inflections, cadence, and tone. He found all the highs and lows of hubris, profundity, stress, dedication, and talent in front of and behind the camera. Is all of this in Maestro ostentatious hopscotch from Cooper? Probably, but what else would you expect from an energy like working at an insanely masterful level?

2023, 5 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEW, StreamingDon ShanahanNovember 23, 2023Maestro, Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, NetflixComment

MOVIE REVIEW: May December

While ambitious as a ripe tangent in borrowing a real-life scandal, the whole shadowing angle of May December overloads what was excessive enough as off-screen history to begin with. Applying a smattering of unlikely kinks and a confounding third act of insecurity swerves sinks the film. Haynes is left with a mood piece of examining taboo with more taboo. and it gets unattractively lost in just that very vibe.

JustWatch adds new lists feature and imports your IMDb lists

The JustWatch Lists feature now offers more than just saving and tracking your favorite movies and TV shows: Users can now create, share & import lists, discover list collections curated by our team and track their TV shows. Browse and save lists from other users or import IMDb lists straight into JustWatch to enhance the lists with the JustWatch feature set.

2023, Column, Home Media, LIST, NEWS, StreamingDon ShanahanNovember 22, 2023Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Killer

Among his peers and contemporaries, David Fincher conveys a commanding control of fluidity that few filmmakers can rival in this day and age. His stringent melding of staging, cinematography, performance outcomes, editing, and music rarely, if ever, stumble or loiter. Fincher’s mise-en-scène is an authority of total precision, arguably second to none. He simply doesn’t miss his marks, which makes The Killer and its propulsive narrative about a rare and fatal mistake so much more fascinating.