Oh dear, dear, dear. I was getting ready to watch “A Boy Called Christmas” and decided to first read a handful of early user reviews that were posted. I wish I hadn’t. While I always try to respect the opinions of most reviewers, positive or negative, there are a few that routinely post careless, negative comments, without much thought towards how it may impact not … Continue reading A Boy Called Christmas (2021) Movie Review
Disney Animation hasn’t impressed me in recent years because they’ve been more concerned with making films about flawless, marketable characters and it’s really hindered their ability to take risks and tell interesting stories. Encanto is a step in a much better direction. In fact, it’s probably the closest to a Pixar film that the studio has produced since Zootopia. There’s a theme at its core … Continue reading Encanto(2021) Movie Review
Despite being a fan of sci-fi and fantasy fare, I had never read Frank Herbert’s “Dune” novel. To be honest, the plot summaries of trade wars and odd names didn’t exactly appeal to me. So, I came into this film armed only with the expectations that director Dennis Villeneuve (one of my favorite film helmsmen) would probably do a good job with the material. That … Continue reading Dune(2021) Movie Review
“Let Him Go” is like if Liz Cheney made a movie. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane act the hell out of this preposterous thriller that somehow manages to be nail bitingly exciting. They play good conservative Americans, the kind that own guns but use them responsibly to do things like shoot sick horses, and are really good at baking pies. Their son dies tragically and … Continue reading Let Him Go Movie Review
This is pretty much what you’d expect given the stars and the Netflix tag. I am a bit disappointed that this film took the lamest, most cliched route to the ending, but it’s a fairly fun and breezy film for the most part. Reynolds and Johnson are basically playing themselves as usual, which works pretty well as their banter keeps things humming along. There are … Continue reading Red Notice (2021) Movie Review
I’ll be honest I was not a fan of Army of the Dead at all. So I had absolutely no expectations watching this and I have to say it is much better than I thought it would be. They also picked one of the better characters to do a prequel on also. It has some problems don’t get me wrong. I thought it was quite … Continue reading Army of Thieves(2021) Movie Review
This movie is an absolute thriller. Wow! After a long time have I seen a really great thriller. This is one movie that doesn’t take much time in establishing the premise or the story of the movie. Right in the first 15 minutes everything starts proceeding with the right pace. This is NOT A HORROR MOVIE. There are not ghosts, or scary looking creatures. A … Continue reading The Room(2019) Movie Review
This is very well shot with good camera moves. The score and production design help the experience so much and are effective. The storytelling is nuanced. The direction was on point. I really enjoyed the way the information was delivered. The tone was great. Sometimes I expected it to go some ways but it surprised me. Sometimes the movie moved between genres which I thought … Continue reading Birds of Paradise(2021) Amazon Movie Review
If you knew you were to die today, what would you wish to change about the way you lived your life? This is one of the themes Shyamalan explores in this astutely-directed, mostly tense, high-concept thriller, and it does result in some genuinely intelligent, emotionally resonant character beats that I did not expect. Unfortunately, some clunky dialogue, a couple bad actors, and too many repetitive … Continue reading Old(2021) Movie Review
The second female John Wick rip off in just a month. Based on the trailer I had somewhat high hopes for this one, daring to believe it would deliver some classic John Woo style heroic bloodshed. Yet it’s another letdown, just like Jolt, Atomic Blonde, The Protégé and so many others. Mary Elizabeth Winstead does a fine job as the lead, but shares no chemistry … Continue reading Kate(2021) Movie Review
Cinema Trace - Short Movie Reviews 