Movie Review: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

3.25/5 Reviewed July 23, 2017 I like this director, Luc Besson, for his visual style and inspirational vision of world-building (at least visually). Quick review: this movie is a cross between The 5th Element (LB’s movie), Serenity, and Avatar, and has just about as much story depth as two of those (aka not a ton

Movie Review: Inside Out (2015)

4.5/5 Reviewed July 20, 2017 Pretty sure Pixar could make a movie about anything and it would be at least passable. Inside Out is another one of their hits, this one about a pre-teen girl named Riley that moves from glorious Minnesota to…San Francisco, where they’ve even ruined Pizza. She’s controlled by five emotions, all

Movie Review: Sucker Punch (2011)

3.5/5 Reviewed July 16, 2017 This was… a strange movie. Zack Snyder wrote, directed, and produced this film about girls in an asylum trying to escape together, with the lead Baby Doll creating elaborate fantasy/action dreams to escape her grim reality. It’s a bit of Inception meets Return to Oz (if you haven’t heard of

Movie Review: Spectre (2015)

Reviewed July 15, 2017 The most recent Bond movie and Daniel Craig’s fourth time in the role shows Bond taking on the shadowy organization first introduced wayyyy back in the Connery days, Spectre. As many know, I’m a huge Bond fan, and this was the only movie of the series I had not yet seen.

Movie Review: Porky’s (1981)

2.5/5 Reviewed July 15, 2017 Made a year before my previous review’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High, this has a lot more in common with films like American Pie and Revenge of the Nerds than with the aforementioned flick. A bunch of raunchy high schoolers in 1950s deal with racism, outrageous pranks, abusive parents, and

Movie Review: Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

3.5/5 Reviewed July 15, 2017 One of the earliest of the long 80s run of teen comedy/dramas that are nostalgia staples, Fast Times is the story of a bunch of kids in high school, struggling with sex, drugs, classes, and general life (with some deep topics for the time such as abortions). It’s well done

Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

4.75/5 Reviewed July 9, 2017 The Indian drama that was a media darling on its way in winning 8 Oscars, including Best Picture, this is the story of a boy from the Mumbai slums who is one question away from winning the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. He’s accused of cheating

Movie Review: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Reviewed July 7, 2017 The love/hate child between Marvel wanting Spidey back in the MCU and Sony realizing they can no longer make competent Spidey movies on their own, this film chronicles the awkward high school struggles of a very young (15, seriously?) Spider-Man as he deals with being ignored by superheroes, bullying by jerks

Movie Review: Rio (2011)

Reviewed July 1, 2017 Oddly enough this makes 3 straight Jamie Foxx movies for me, completely unintentionally. Rio was a family-friendly animated love story featuring blue Macaws brought together to save their species, which of course happens during Carnival in Rio. Blu is raised in rural MN and can’t fly, while Jewel is a jungle