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The Preview Reel: Trekking Through the Ice Age
Welcome to another “Preview Reel” column, where we look at the week’s upcoming wide release movies. This week sees a couple of Hollywood’s most bankable franchises debut along with a new James Wan produced horror flick. Star Trek Beyond continues the voyages of the Starship Enterprise, Manny and the gang return in Ice Age: Collision Course, and a supernatural being terrifies in the dark in Lights ...[Read More]
Box Office Weekend: Pets Ain’t ‘Fraid of No Ghostbusters
The Secret Life of Pets is the top draw for a second week in a row; though it dropped to an estimated $50.6 million in revenue, it managed to keep Ghostbusters in a second-place finish with an estimated $46 million. The $144 million production did open to critical praise, but with the news that the film will not be released in China (and the months-long controversy spawned by its original release ...[Read More]
Movie Review: Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Hunt for the Wilderpeople is an uplifting, gruff New Zealander film about family love. Ricky (Julian Dennison) comes from foster care to the home of Hec (Sam Neill) and his wife, Bella (Rima Te Wiata). Hec and Ricky stay away from each other initially, largely due to how similar they are. Both prefer nature and solitude to city life and small talk, and so they vet each other cautiously. Ricky trie...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Stop-Motion Magic in the New Kubo and the Two Strings Trailer
Long time, no see, dear readers. But I’m back, and just in time for the release of the new Ghostbusters. This week’s Trailer Trashin’ column takes a look at the new trailer for Laika’s upcoming animated film Kubo and the Two Strings. Premise: Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voice of Art Parkinson) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town. But hi...[Read More]
The Preview Reel: Don’t Be ‘Fraid of No Ghost
Welcome to another “Preview Reel” column, where we look at the week’s upcoming wide release movies. This week sees one of the most controversial releases of the year, Ghostbusters. There’s been a lot of online chatter about this movie, unfortunately most of it has been negative. Is all of the negativity deserving? Let’s break it down and see. [divider] Ghostbusters What we are excited about: Paul ...[Read More]
Box Office Weekend: Life of Pets Exposed
The studio that brought you Minions knocked the House of Mouse from atop the box office, as The Secret Life of Pets took the top spot with a strong showing, bringing in an estimated $103.2 million domestically. In fact, Finding Dory found itself in tight competition with the critically panned The Legend of Tarzan. In second place with an estimated $20.6 million, The Legend of Tarzan is still nowhe...[Read More]
Movie Review: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, and I’m RSVP’ing as a +1. Someone please pass the champagne and a hanky, because this is the wedding party of the year. Though there’s been no lack of wedding-themed comedies as of late (or ever), it’s high time another raucous matrimonial flick graced the summertime big screen. Stunning new concept? No. Totally absurd and uproarious? Absolutely....[Read More]
Movie Review: The Secret Life of Pets
Illumination Entertainment has been responsible for some of the biggest animated movies of the last couple years. They started with Despicable Me back in 2010, and have since released The Lorax (2012), Despicable Me 2 (2013), and Minions (2015). All of their films have been financially successful, with varying degrees of critical and audience reception, but their new film, The Secret Life of Pets,...[Read More]
The Preview Reel: Can Pets Neuter Mike and Dave?
Welcome to another “Preview Reel” column, where we look at the week’s upcoming wide release movies. For the past three weeks, Finding Dory has dominated the box office despite going up some pretty big blockbusters. The Disney/Pixar sequel faces its toughest challenge this week, however, in the form of another animated flick, The Secret Life of Pets. This week also features the R-rated comedy Mike ...[Read More]
Box Office Weekend: July 4th Belongs to Dory
In celebration of Independence Day weekend, Finding Dory remained the top draw at the box office, and continues to pile on in U.S. gross with an estimated $50.2 million for the four-day weekend. The Legend of Tarzan was the second biggest draw, and while its estimated $45.6 million is a decent start, the film will have to battle against a $180 million budget and low critical reception. However, cr...[Read More]
Movie Review: Tickled
Tickled is a very smart documentary investigating our collective failures at the macro level. The legal system, the school system and our community ecosystem have “leakages.” Our failure has been forgetting we are linked and responsible for each other’s well-being, as the Dalai Lama and other spiritual leaders teach. We haven’t tried hard enough nor succeeded enough, and we know this because indiv...[Read More]
Movie Review: Our Kind of Traitor
The new thriller, Our Kind of Traitor, is worth the visit. Just the right amount of action, adventure, and intrigue. The dynamic cast was spot on and is sure to please. The story starts out with Perry (Ewan McGregor) and his girlfriend Gail (Naomie Harris) in a bit of a tumultuous relationship with Perry having to try and make amends after a sorted affair he had some time back. As chance would hav...[Read More]