Review: 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' drives the franchise into the ground

The full title of this article should have read: "Drives the franchise into the ground, where it hopefully remains buried for thousands of years," because if  this installment is any indication, that's where this saga belongs. There is no pleasure and it truly hurts to report that "Fallen Kingdom...

Review: 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' shoots first and raises questions later

The demystification of the Star Wars Universe continues with "Solo: A Star Wars Story," the second stand-alone adventure (following  2016's "Rogue One") and the 10th overall Star Wars film. It's basically the backstory of one of the saga's most beloved smart-alecks, Han Solo, the pilot of the...

Review: 'Black Panther' shows that the Marvel Universe still has teeth

The long-awaited, highly-anticipated "Black Panther" has finally arrived, and it lives up to the hype. With it, a renewed sense of much-needed vigor is injected into the Marvel Movie Universe. Believe it or not, "Black Panther" is now the 18th Marvel movie to hit theaters since 2008's "Iron Man...

Review: 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi,' the Resistance is not futile

When a character in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" utters the sentence, "This is not going to go the way you think," they might as well have been speaking directly to the audience. The highly-anticipated "Episode VIII" is an emotional, powerful and exciting follow-up to 2015's "The Force Awakens," but...

Movie review: 'Thor: Ragnarok' a Marvel Universe joke that is on us

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) used to be a charismatic, cocksure super-hero when he first appeared in his own film back in 2011. Now he - and pretty much every other character in "Thor: Ragnarok" - is completely unrecognizable just three films (and countless cross-overs) later. That first film was a lot of...

Movie review: The new 'Kingsman' sequel a royal disappointment

What a massive, royal disappointment. One of the absolute best movies of 2014 was "Kingsman: The Secret Service" (read the review here). And though all of the same ingredients seem to be in play for the sequel, "Kingsman: The Golden Circle", this new film is served up stale, leaving a very bitter...

Review: ‘Turn It Around: The Story of Easy Bay Punk’ is an honest, raw examination of punk rock, East Bay bands and Gilman Street

Turn it Around: The Story of East Bay Punk is a love letter to punk rock. More specifically, it’s a heartfelt look at the East Bay scene, Gilman Street, and what made them so special. Directed by Corbett Redford and Green Day serving as executive producers, the film is about the bands and community...

Movie review: DC's 'Wonder Woman' one giant leap for womankind, if only a small step for the genre

The greatest wonder of all in regards to the new "Wonder Woman" (opening today), is how it took this long to finally bring a female superhero to the forefront of a comic book movie. Thus far, it's been a man's world when it comes to superhero films, but DC finally delivers a proud, strong, female...

Movie review: Yo ho, oh no! This 'Pirates' movie stinks

Remember when Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow was an Oscar-nominated performance? Me neither, but it did happen. Flash-forward 14 years (yikes!) from that first "Pirates of the Caribbean" film - a film based on the Disney Magic Kingdom theme park ride - and we are given the fifth (and hopefully...

Movie review: 'Alien: Covenant' feels lost in space

Director Ridley Scott returns to the film franchise he helped start with "Alien: Covenant," which is technically the eighth "Alien" film (if you count the two "Alien vs. Predator" spin-off movies). This latest film could have easily been called "Prometheus 2," picking up where the last Scott-helmed...

Movie review: New documentary 'Chasing Trane' honors the jazz legend, John Coltrane

Miles Davis. Charlie Parker. Duke Ellington...and John Coltrane. There are surely others that would land on the "all-time great jazz musicians" list, but none would exclude the legendary saxophonist known to many simply as "Trane." John Coltrane played with some of the greatest artists and composers...

Movie review: 'King Arthur' given a dizzying new polish by director Guy Ritchie

We all know the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table...heck, to say it's been given more than just a few big-screen treatments over the years would be an understatement. Director Guy Ritchie is the latest filmmaker to take a stab at the tale, with "King Arthur: Legend of the...

Movie review: 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' a worthy follow-up and tons of cosmic fun

Just like the rag-tag group of heroes that make up the team, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" is at times loud, obnoxious and imperfect. But the tone that director James Gunn strikes in this corner of the Marvel Universe makes this franchise the best thing that the studio currently has going for it...

Movie review: 'The Fate of the Furious' is bigger, louder and more implausible than ever...just the way we like it

It might be career-suicide to try to criticize what has become one of the most popular, successful and unlikely film franchises of all time. The ongoing saga of Dom and his criminal, speed-racing pals now enters into its eighth installment with "The Fate of the Furious," a chapter that is bigger...

Movie review: 'Gifted' a mediocre film made better by a gifted young actress

If you haven't heard of the young actress Mckenna Grace yet, you will. She is the talented, vibrant, 10-year-old star of the new drama "Gifted" (in theaters today, Wednesday, April 12). Her presence and performance alone lifts the film into watchable territory, despite its numerous faults and...