Category: -Movie Review
-
What does the ending of Palm Springs mean?
The three endings in the Groundhog Day themed movie Palm Springs have a little unpacking to do. Plus, dinosaurs. Let’s get to it. SPOILERS LIE AHEAD. Why does Nyles mention his dog? In the first end scene, Nyles and Sarah are lounging in the pool at his ‘safe house’ on November 10th, the real next day.…
-
Best of British Biographies – Timothy Spall
“There’s the funny-looking character actor who plays the same role every time. But I’m the funny-looking character actor who plays many different kinds.” – Timothy Spall Tim Spall is one of those brilliant, chameleonic actors who can turn his hand to any role but — probably because he isn’t classically handsome — isn’t a top…
-
Classic Movie Review – Gremlins
Gremlins. One of the best non-Christmas Christmas movies ever made. It’s got a bizarre but cemented niche among the classics that somehow stands up after all this time, although Steven Spielberg seemed to be experimenting with genres in those days. Gremlins (1984) isn’t a great movie, but slips into the A range by nature of…
-
Classic Movie Review – The Goonies
The Goonies ‘r’ good enough for me! Here’s another Amblin Entertainment kid-based movie by Steven Spielberg that still holds up over time. The Goonies (from 1985) is a charming, fun ride featuring pirates, monsters, secret passageways, treasure maps, cunning kids, and more bike chases than E.T. (What is it with Spielberg, kids, and bicycles?) Altogether, it’s…
-
Director Paul Verhoeven & the Woeful Reboots of Robocop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers
What have the following all got in common: Robocop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers? All three are cracking — if a bit O.T.T. — films by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven. Usually a term like ‘maverick’ is thrown in at some point but, as the only other Dutch director I’m aware of is Jan de Bont,…
-
Movie Review – Scoob!
—
I grew up watching Scooby Doo as a kid, so I was looking forward to taking a trip down memory lane. But that trip didn’t start off good. The first half of this movie was hard to watch. Fortunately it got a little better toward the end. I would give the first half of this…
-
Movie Review – Artemis Fowl, from a novel novice
Honestly, I have to ask: What WAS this? I’m told the Artemis Fowl books are top shelf, but the origin film is merely…meh. So I watched the movie with low expectations: usually that means I can walk out feeling somewhat sated. In this case, I was infuriated. How hard could it be for Disney to…
-
The Dumb Movies – How films earn D grades at RunPee
Here we are near the very bottom of the barrel, after detailed discussion of our A, B, and C range ratings. What films rate the “dumb” D grades at RunPee? How many movies are this bad…and what makes them suck? Just to be clear, a D grade is a FAIL, movie-wise, because you pay money…
-
Classic Movie Review – Mean Girls
Such a cute classic teen comedy. Mean Girls isn’t striving to be a generational anthem like The Breakfast Club (an A+ movie), or even attempting to do so for young adults — like St. Elmo’s Fire (rolling through with a B+). Still, within the limitations of being: a small story that’s simply fun, charm you…
-
Classic Movie Review – The Empire Strikes Back
Our first catch of the day The Empire Strikes Back will be impossible to review. Beloved films are always difficult to do justice to without a lot of hand wringing and mental gymnastics. And for a Star Wars movie at the top of its game (a feat never repeated since), it’s even harder. I mean,…
