Reviews

The Faith of Angels (2 1/2 stars out of 4)



“The Faith of Angels” is based on the true story of a ten-year-old boy who was lost for several days in an abandoned mine outside Tooele, Utah.



Director Garrett Batty’s effort doesn’t spend a lot of time getting off the ground. We are quickly dropped into a church outing with a group

Speak No Evil (2 1/2 stars out of 4)



I like to think of myself as a horror movie fan, and there are plenty of longtime favorite movies that would support that claim. But sometimes I come across a “good” horror movie that is a bit too unsettling to offer a full-throated recommendation, and I’m always left wondering if I’m not

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2 ½ stars out of 4)



Back in 1998, I went to see “Blues Brothers 2000” with tempered excitement. I was genuinely looking forward to the experience, but I knew I should keep my expectations low. There was no chance the film would even approach the grandeur of what had become my favorite movie of all-time, and even more

Deadpool & Wolverine (2 ½ stars out of 4)



The first time I reviewed a Deadpool movie, back in 2018, I found it refreshing—a term that didn’t go over well with my editors at the time. Yes, it was violent and vulgar, but like “Thor: Ragnarok” and the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies, it provided a much-needed pushback to the relentless

Alien: Romulus (2 ½ stars out of 4)



Like the “Terminator” franchise, “Alien” movies have been trying to recapture their former glory for several decades. In both cases, successful sequels gave filmmakers the idea that their franchises had continuing potential, but as of 2024, it’s hard to argue that any releases after 1986’s “Aliens” or 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” have

Sing Sing (3 ½ stars out of 4)



Where most classic prison movies like “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Cool Hand Luke” are focused on a character getting out, “Sing Sing” seems more interested in making the best of things while still behind bars.



Inspired by true events, Greg Kwedar’s film follows an inmate theater group that stages a comedy for their fellow

Twisters (2 1/2 stars out of four)



1997’s “Twister” is a great disaster spectacle, a true summer popcorn movie. I’ve returned to itnumerous times over the years, and as a result I had reasonable hopes for this summer’ssequel, “Twisters.”



My hopes were only partially realized.



On the surface, Lee Isaac Chung’s “Twisters” is a fun action piece that is light on brains andheavy

Fly Me to the Moon (3 stars out of 4)



The Space Race of the 1960s has delivered some fantastic movies over the years. Based on theexcellent Tom Wolfe novel of the same name, “The Right Stuff” was the first one I remember,tracing the story of the Mercury Astronauts in the aftermath of Sputnik. 2019’s “Apollo 11” wasa fascinating documentary, built

Inside Out 2 (3 ½ stars out of 4)



I noticed something while watching “Inside Out 2” that I hadn’t quite picked up on before. We all know Pixar puts out films that are enjoyable for parents as well as their presumed adolescent target audience, and the new sequel to Pete Docter’s 2015 original maintains that standard. But like that film,

The Bikeriders (3 stars out of 4)



2024 is shaping up to be a good year for movies about photography. “Civil War” already showed us a potential American conflict through the eyes of a photojournalist, and now “The Bikeriders” brings, of all things, a coffee table book to the big screen.



Jeff Nichols’ film is based on the real-life efforts of Danny