Having skipped the original Escape Room, I was worried I’d have missed some crucial information going into this sequel. This seems to be an anticipated anxiety, as the first five minutes of the film are devoted to getting you up to speed....
There are many roles that feel like the result of divine intervention — actors who come along at the right time for the performance they were born to play. For Jennifer Hudson, that destiny is manifested in Respect, as she pays tribute to the Queen...
There’s a moment in Jungle Cruise in which cruise captain Frank single-handedly wrestles a hungry cheetah and wins. The movie has an explanation for why this impossible thing occurs, and for the most part, it’s acceptable, but it was not lost on me...
For the uninitiated, comic books can be incomprehensible. They’re chock-full of strange elements. Yet beneath the trippy visuals and concepts lie undeniable humanity in its characters and their stories. The Suicide Squad is a film that embraces...
I’ll admit it, it’s fun to be (at the movies) in 2021. The recent slate of blockbuster movies have been a reminder of how good they can be. With the winning combination of state-of-the-art visual effects with compelling and fantastical stories, it...
After a year of continuous shutdowns, audiences around the world are celebrating the return of the movies. As cinemas are declared safe to reopen, blockbuster films plagued by delays are finally seeing the light of a projector booth. So many, in...
When on the run from the United States government for her crimes in Captain America Civil War, Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff takes some much-needed vacation time. Camping out in hiding doesn’t last long, though, as she’s soon under attack...
Welcome to the cinematic fight of the century. You’d think that after being crowned King of the Monsters, Godzilla would be sitting pretty, but heavy is the head that wears the crown, and you never know who’s looking to snatch it. In one corner,...
It’s hard to think of a film series with more humble beginnings. What began as a gritty exploration of underground street racing has evolved into a spy action-adventure franchise, with the kind of special effects one used to expect from movies with...
As the cinemas continue to be closed and new movie releases remain retired, streaming platforms have had to fill the gap. This week, I caught up with one of the newer Netflix-only releases that had everything going for it in terms of cinematic...
AN ACTOR’S association with a part can be so severe that they cease having a separate identity altogether. Robert Downey Jr may as well be billionaire superhero Tony Stark, and Vin Diesel has been Domonic Toretto for the last two decades. There...
For the last four years it has been customary that every Monday the Eentertainment section of The Gleaner would contain a review of a film playing in the local cinema. Unfortunately, for the time being, that will no longer be the case. This is due...
Movies deal with several ideas, but more often than not, chief among them is identity. In films, identities are several, and expose us to a wide variety of peoples. Our favourite movies often have characters we can relate to, in situations we find...
The world of Onward is the familiar mixed with fantasy. On the one hand, you have all the usual signs of modern-day city living, but on the other, the creatures are like those often seen only in the books of Tolkein. It’s a world where magic once...
The year 2018 saw the release of an amazing action film called Upgrade. Initially, I reviewed it as being “some of the most imaginative, fun and wildly expressive” action I’d seen in a long time. Sadly, since Upgrade there hasn’t been anything to...
Movie trailers are a funny thing. They’re meant to get you hyped, but there’s a balance to making a good one. Show too much and you ruin the movie. Show too little, and there’s nothing to get excited about. Show your character as a mutated,...
Birds of Prey is only an hour and 49 minutes, but in that time it establishes itself so strongly. Yet, the language of the film is a known one. The movie has the DNA of Deadpool, and Scott Pilgrim vs The World, combined into the mutated one-of-a-...
Upon opening, the film shows promise. The tale of Doctor Dolittle and his wife traversing the world unfolds in beautifully simple animation. It’s a touching beginning to what is otherwise a turgid and unmitigated disaster of a film. After a...
In the 25 years it has existed, I’ve never seen a film from the Bad Boys series. If you asked me the names of the characters, I would have said “Fresh Prince and Martin”. Still, even with my limited knowledge, I could tell you of a few iconic...
From the moment I first saw the trailer for Sam Mendes’ 1917, I was intrigued. In it, the main character is running towards the camera and suddenly the film is cropped to only be seen through the text ‘1917’. It was a neat trick of editing that...
Considering how many parodies there have been made for movies like Like A Boss, it’s a wonder that they still exist. Then again, it shouldn’t be that surprising. Comedies cost next to nothing to make, and they’re flocked to by the very people they’...
When Martin Scorcese compared superhero movies to theme park rides, he did so attracting the ire of fans the world over. Though his comments weren’t unfounded, I couldn’t help but find them reductive. A theme park ride has little story, character...
I can’t help but feel a disconnect from period pieces. Everything about them is as foreign to me as the lands of Mordor. The way they speak, the way they move, even the way they dress bountifully in ruffled garments. All of this amounts to a film...
Jumanji: The Next Level is technically the third Jumanji film, but it has all the makings of a second film in a franchise. That makes sense, considering the last Jumanji movie felt more like a reboot than a follow-up to the Robin Williams original...
There’s a moment in the middle of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker when Rey is approached by a new droid. It takes a step back as she reaches her hand out, bringing her to the conclusion that it had been harmed before. “It’s all right,” she says. “...
