Archive for the 'Movie Reviews' Category
August 7th, 2021 by Brian White
I had no idea what The Suicide Squad was going into this. I mean I know what the Suicide Squad is, but I’m talking about whether this was a sequel, prequel, stand-alone, reboot or something completely else. I’ve been totally living in a vacuum the last year as it relates to this film (still very much riding the high from last year’s Birds of Prey). Needless to say I come to understand it as it’s officially being billed as the tenth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), but very much a stand-alone film/sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad. Although there’s several returning characters like Boomerang, Captain Rick Flag and Harley Quinn this is very much a stand-alone “sequel” that from now on we will just dub it as “James Gunn’s Suicide Squad.” And that’s that! Continue reading ‘The Suicide Squad is BOLD and FUNNY, BUT… (Movie Review)’
August 4th, 2021 by Peter Paras
Forget about believing a man can fly; the true miracle of DC’s extended universe is how James Gunn’s sequel/soft reboot of 2016’s dismal Suicide Squad could be the best superhero film since Christopher’s Nolan’s The Dark Knight. A safer bet is that it’s easily the best of the DC films since Heath Ledger’s iconic role as the Clown Prince of Gotham in 2008. So I should probably stick with that, right? After all, the MCU has certainly had incredible highs like Avengers: Infinity War and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. However, as someone who appreciates when a film can feel like a singular vision, Gunn’s latest is hard to top among the many caped adventures from the past decade. The Suicide Squad will be in theaters and HBO Max starting this weekend. If it’s not already clear, I loved this film.
Continue reading ‘The Suicide Squad’s Worst of the Worst Are The Best of DCEU (Movie Review)’
July 29th, 2021 by Peter Paras
Disney’s latest theme park ride-turned-potential blockbuster, Jungle Cruise, stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt as two people who board a man-made contraption and mostly bicker as astounding sights and sounds are just out of reach. As a cinematic version of what it’s like to go through “It’s A Small World After,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and, yes, “Jungle Cruise,” this is as a close as we’re probably gonna get to a plot that mirrors what guests of the Happiest Place on Earth actually do while experiencing said attractions. Plus, having terrific chemistry between these co-stars beats whomever you had to sit next to when you were on those rides, right? All aboard, then!
Continue reading ‘Disney’s Jungle Cruise Is An Enjoyable, Familiar Ride (Movie Review)’
July 28th, 2021 by Brian White
Before I begin with introducing Stillwater I have something to admit. I have not written a review of anything since last November. If memory serves me correct, the third season of Westworld was my last. I had a lot of big changes, losses and even happy gains happen in my life since then. I needed time away from being overly critical about things like movies. I feel it was therapeutic, but also coming back slowly into the fold here may bode very well for me. That’s what I am hoping for at least. Plus I got to bring my fiancé to her first press screening ever. Win! Now about that Stillwater movie. It may have not been showing for us press at the most desirable of places here in Austin, but when I watched the trailer something about it spoke loudly to me. Here’s this man going into a foreign country and he’s risking everything to prove his daughter’s innocence. I don’t have those kind of problems in life, but I can definitely relate to the fact that I have spent a lot of my time recently traveling outside my comfort zone, having many first experiences and really risking it all for something I believe in (also known as not taking the safe path in life). Continue reading ‘‘Stillwater’ Flows As A Procedural, Human Drama (Movie Review)’
July 22nd, 2021 by Peter Paras
Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan is back with Old, an adaptation of a 2010 Swiss graphic novel, Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters. The last time the auteur adapted another’s produced work was eleven years ago. That film was the critical and commercial flop, The Last Airbender, based on Nickelodeon’s iconic animated series. Still, the film’s premise: a group of tourists get stuck on a remote section of an island and begin aging rapidly, definitely intrigued me. Old might be sourced a graphic novel, but the 108 minutes I experienced are very much in the Shyamalan wheelhouse. The question is whether this is good like The Sixth Sense or, well, Glass…
Continue reading ‘Shyamalan’s ‘Old’ Is Best As A B-Movie Thriller (Movie Review)’
July 22nd, 2021 by Peter Paras
Eight years after the last G.I. Joe adventure hit the big screen Paramount and MGM suit up for a reboot with Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins. A few months ago, an impressive trailer highlighted cool ninja moves, outlandish stand-offs on motorcycles, and a black helmet that’s wicked cool but surely not great to actually see out of. As the titular character, Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) seemed more than capable of pulling off silent assassin simmering with bouts of humor. Add in Ready or Not‘s Samara Weaving, who ditches her wedding dress for gear that’s more practical, and I was totally onboard. Pandemic notwithstanding, this was primed to be silly fun for summer 2021. Did Hasbro’s other big toy franchise finally get its due? Read on, Joes!
Continue reading ‘‘Snakes Eyes’ Delivers Derivative Action (Movie Review)’
July 15th, 2021 by Peter Paras
25 years after NBA great Michael Jordan assembled an All-Star team that included Bugs Bunny and Bill Murray, the Tune Squad is back in Space Jam: A New Legacy. A bigger budget, much better animation, and more characters from the Warner Bros. universe will be in theaters this weekend and on HBO Max (for 30 days). Does current basketball star LeBron James have the right stuff for big-screen antics? Will Harry Potter show up for a game of horse? Is this tale of father and son actually emotionally affecting? There are only seconds left on the clock, so time for a three-pointer!
Continue reading ‘‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ Is Mostly Harmless Fun For Kids (Movie Review)’
July 14th, 2021 by Peter Paras
As Sony’s follow-up to 2019’s surprise hit, Escape Room: Tournament of Champions is more of the same, but I’m certainly not complaining. Returning players, along with some new faces, will need to be lightning-fast problem solvers, or else they might get zapped, buried alive, or worse. The stakes are higher, and the rooms are way bigger. Post-pandemic, most of the best movies I’ve returned to theaters for have been of the horror/thriller variety and with good reason. We might be sitting a few seats away from each other, but all those shrieks and chuckles make for a collective good time at the local multiplex. So let’s find the next clue and jump in.
Continue reading ‘‘Escape Room’ Sequel Delivers More Thrilling Danger Rooms (Movie Review)’
July 8th, 2021 by Peter Paras
One of the original members of the Avengers Initiative finally gets her close-up. Black Widow, the 24th entry in the ginormous Marvel phenomenon, releases on July 9th in theaters and as Premiere-Access on Disney Plus for $29.99. This is the first film in the MCU’s Phase 4, even though Spider-Man: Far From Home was way back in July 2019. COVID clearly played a factor, but regardless I wasn’t too excited to see what looked to be, via the trailers, a big flashback episode so quickly in the aftermath of wrapping up the arcs of Steve, Tony, and definitely Natasha. And yet, since it had been a minute thanks to that pandemic (even with those D+ shows like WandaVision to keep me occupied), I couldn’t wait to see the Marvel Studios logo once again light up the big screen. Will the second female-led MCU film be vaulted into the heights of the best solo adventures like Captain America: The Winter Soldier or be quickly be forgotten like The Incredible Hulk?
Continue reading ‘‘Black Widow’ Leaps Over Most MCU Solo Flicks (Movie Review)’
June 24th, 2021 by Peter Paras
Has summer movie season finally begun in the U.S.? Universal’s ninth entry in their blockbuster series, the aptly named F9: The Fast Saga, hits theaters in the states this weekend (although it’s been playing across the globe for a month now). The box office has been surprisingly good for the theater-only release of A Quiet Place: Part II but sadly not good for In the Heights (which rules, btw). As Dom and his family rev up for the latest installment, there were never any plans to go the streaming route. Originally slated for April of 2020, was the wait to witness high octane thrills at your local IMAX worth it? Has #Justice4Han been served? Does John Cena fill the void left by Dwayne Johnson? Did Cars in Space really happen? Finally, where does this rank before we get to the eventual tenth entry?
Continue reading ‘‘F9’ Is More Pace Car Than Photofinisher (Movie Review)’
June 3rd, 2021 by Peter Paras
Another week, another horror sequel. Say what you will about the quality of The Conjuring Universe’s eight entries (if you count The Curse of La Llorona), at the very least, they originated from a strong debut that completely worked as a stand-alone film. Now, the ever-expanding series returns with our favorite ghost hunter duo in the non-numbered third entry, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. This time the Warren’s will need to use sleuthing skills too, as what exactly is happening is not entirely clear. Thankfully, right when you think the formula might get stale, this third iteration is something else. Still, with James Wan out of the director’s chair, is The Curse of La Llorona‘s Michael Chaves ready to invoke that which lingers in the dark?
Continue reading ‘The Third ‘Conjuring’ Has New Unholy Tricks Up Its Sleeve (Movie Review)’
May 28th, 2021 by Peter Paras
Over a year since A Quiet Place Part II was originally scheduled to release, Paramount hopes enough of us are vaccinated and ready to return to the multiplex to embrace a story concerning a global disaster that keeps its survivors afraid to venture outside. Still, scary movies are the kind of entertainment that can definitely fare better with a crowd (even if the venue is only at 25% capacity). Returning writer/director John Krasinski has delivered the kind of bare-knuckled sequel any fan of the 2018 original starring Emily Blunt would want, mostly. With other returning members of the cast and new addition Cillian Murphy, is this the movie to christen one’s return to a darkened theater, albeit with masks and other safety protocols? Overall, I think so. Besides, if someone breaks the rules, just grab a cochlear implant and turn up your portable speaker to ward them off, amirite?
Continue reading ‘‘A Quiet Place’ Sequel Still Knows When To Get Loud (Movie Review)’
March 29th, 2021 by Jason Coleman
What a difference 24hrs. makes! The cinematic curtain has closed on a recent online fest that focused on a genre that has gotten a bit of a bad rap over the years – found footage. The Unnamed Footage Festival, which started on March 26th, 2021 and ran a full 24hrs. long, highlighted not only found footage but also faux-documentaries, screenlife film and POV cinema all in an attempt to entertain and fundraise helping local movie theaters. And for those who came, saw and witnessed UFF 2021 it was exactly as promised – a chaotic mix of everything first person including features, shorts, some Q&A material and block intros with goofball host Vernon Herman Salinger. (Think William Castle meets SCTV!)
Continue reading ‘Unnamed Footage Festival 2021 – Encapsulated Movie Reviews’
February 3rd, 2021 by Jason Coleman
The 2021 Sundance Film Festival has officially closed its virtual curtains and it was an interesting one to say the least. On the positive side one could not only check out various film fare from home but also skip past the way too revealing programmer intro so going into the movie cold was a blissful reality. Downside is even though it was impossible to see everything (wasn’t able to see Coda and I missed the screening time for Knocking!) what I did see was a mixed bag. While there were a couple of serious standouts, there were also some dismal outings that warranted a zero dog rating from yours truly. It’s a strange thing to see such subpar stuff coming out of the iconic Sundance and maybe marks a need for a shift in those who program the fest. (Weird doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better people!) In any case taking on the good, so-so and very ugly I was able to check out a whopping fourteen titles over a week and the opinions are now live. Docs about getting to the truth, tales of female empowerment, love during quarantine, the effects of trauma and so much more – check out our Sundance Film Festival 2021 Encapsulated Movie Reviews below!
Continue reading ‘Sundance Film Festival 2021 – Fourteen Encapsulated Movie Reviews’
November 11th, 2020 by Peter Paras
On Friday the 13th, a deranged killer with a final girl’s body will wreak havoc at Blissfield High. The body-swap trope gets a slasher makeover (or is it the other way around?) in Christopher Landon’s new genre mashup. Vince Vaughn is the knife-wielding maniac, and Big Little Lies‘ Kathryn Newton is a shy teen who won’t seem so shy once an ancient dagger magically links the two together. Hilarity and some pretty gnarly deaths abound. Let the kill count commence as things are about to get Freaky!
Continue reading ‘It’s Time 2 Get ‘Freaky’ (Movie Review)’
October 23rd, 2020 by Brandon Peters
Oddly enough, it appears I’ve become the de-facto “Tremors guy” here on Why So Blu. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy these goofy little camp classics (Some of them). But, I’m not super deep into lore and rewatches aside from the first one every so many years. But, I find myself writing a review for a third direct to video sequel in the series. And I’m not mad about that, they are what they are and they really do know what they are doing. Feels like back handed praise, but I’m not sure how else to put it. The latest is title Shrieker Island. Of course, it brings back Michael Gross, but Jamie Kennedy has opted not to return. Instead, he’s been replaced by Jon Heder (Though as a different character). What could Burt Gummer be up to now?
. Continue reading ‘TREMORS: SHRIEKER ISLAND Has The Same Sweet Moves As The Last Time (Movie Review)’
October 19th, 2020 by Jason Coleman
Fright fans – it’s awards time! The amazing SCREAMFEST HORROR DRIVE IN FILM FESTIVAL 2020 has passed, we have done our own comprehensive coverage (six articles in total!) and it’s time for a little credit where credit is due time. In our many ‘Best’ categories we pay tribute to the brightest that Screamfest had to offer in 2020 and the winners certainly kept us turning in our movie graves. For your consideration – it’s the…
Continue reading ‘Screamfest 2020 – Best Of Fest ‘Wrap Up’’
October 17th, 2020 by Jason Coleman
With the latest SCREAMFEST HORROR DRIVE IN FILM FESTIVAL 2020 over it’s time to clean up the movie review aisles for this year. So were giving critical skinny on the last two feature films to give fans a complete picture of the crop of 2020. So before we end our review coverage, here are two…Final Film Reviews!
Continue reading ‘Screamfest 2020 – Final Film Reviews’
