Freeze Frame

The grisly body horror flick "Lee Cronin's The Mummy" owes a lot more to "The Exorcist" than Boris Karloff or Brendan Fraser. A little girl goes missing and, eight years later, she's discovered to be alive and possessed by an ancient Egyptian demon. There are some effectively scary moments, but the movie is overlong and over reliant on gruesome makeup effects. Writer/director Lee Cronin had succes...

The grisly body horror flick "Lee Cronin's The Mummy" owes a lot more to "The Exorcist" than Boris Karloff or Brendan Fraser. A little girl goes missing and, eight years later, she's discovered to be alive and possessed by an ancient Egyptian demon. There are some effectively scary moments, but the movie is overlong and over reliant on gruesome makeup effects. Writer/director Lee Cronin had succes...

The latest cinematic treatment of Shakespeare's "Hamlet' tries an interesting new angle, placing the action among the Southeast Asian community of contemporary London. Riz Ahmed gives a strong performance in the title role, and fine turns are provided by Morfydd Clark as Ophelia, Timothy Spall as Polonius and Art Malik as Claudius. But some of the power of The Bard's poetry is lost when rushed or...

In 2023, the animated comedy "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" took in over a billion dollars at the box office and became the biggest video game adaptation ever. Naturally, a sequel has arrived. "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" offers more of the same. Same players, same game inspired goofiness and the same strengths and weaknesses. Once again, the intrepid Italian plumbers are called upon to save Prin...

The story of acclaimed French writer and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol is depicted through animation in the unconventional biopic, "A Magnificent Life." Directed by Sylvain Chomet of “The Triplets of Bellville” fame, it’s a colorful overview of Pagnol’s life, from his childhood through his adult years focusing on his artistic and commercial successes…and failures. While mildly interesting, “A Magnificen...

You can have all the great special effects and cute aliens you can muster, but without the charisma and star power of Ryan Gosling, the sci-fi opus "Project Hail Mary" would drift aimlessly into space. Gosling plays a science teacher who reluctantly becomes an astronaut and attempts to save our sun from a bizarre destructive force. While in deep space, he encounters an unlikely ally. While it's ov...

"Cohorts," the loyal followers of bestselling author Colleen Hoover, have been anxiously awaiting the cinematic adaptation of her latest novel, "Reminders of Him." They likely won't be disappointed. Maika Monroe gives a strong performance as a young woman recently released from prison after serving time for involuntary manslaughter. She returns to her hometown in hopes of meeting her daughter who ...

Even second-rate Pixar is better than most other animated features. The latest offering from the renowned studio is "Hoppers," a unique sci-fi fantasy about a rebellious girl whose mind is transplanted into a robotic beaver in an attempt to save a pristine glade from the bulldozers of shortsighted developers. Excellent animation, sharp voice work and a thoughtful screenplay elevate “Hoppers,” whic...

If you don't know what the term BDSM refers to, then the comic drama "Pillion" may not be for you. Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling star in the very...I repeat, very...adult story of a dominant biker and his submissive partner. While it's well written and smartly acted, much of the content of this R-rated movie pushes it close to the NC-17 designation. Still, for open-minded viewers, the unco...

The black comedy thriller "How to Make a Killing" is inspired by the classic 1949 British film, "Kind Hearts and Coronets." But this version isn't quite sure what it wants to be. Glen Powell stars as an heir to a vast fortune who's been disowned by his callous family. He plots to bump off all his relatives who stand in the way of his inheritance. The audience is challenged to root for a guy who's...

"Crime 101" is a slick and engaging thriller featuring Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, and Mark Ruffalo. Hemsworth portrays a jewel thief who is emotionally conflicted and determined to complete one final heist. Guided by a personal code of ethics, his character refuses to harm anyone and targets only insurance companies with his schemes. The film's impressive supporting cast includes Barry Keoghan,...

First world problems plague a pop star in the unpredictable mockumentary "The Moment." Charlie XCX plays a fictionalized version of herself in the story of her preparations for a concert and tour. While not a comedy per se, it pokes fun at the whole "Brat" phenomenon and satirizes pop stardom. “The Moment” is an interesting experiment more than a satisfying movie and features surprisingly little m...

The latest Jason Statham thriller "Shelter" provides exactly what you'd expect. It's packed with over-the-top action and ridiculous implausibilities. Statham is a disgraced special ops agent hiding out on a remote Scottish island who's forced back into action to protect an innocent preteen girl, well played by Bodhi Ray Breathnach. The action gets more elaborate and sillier as the movie progresses...

Artificial Intelligence is once again the antagonist in the sci-fi thriller, "Mercy." Set in the crime-ridden near future, Chris Pratt plays a detective on trial for his wife's murder. He has 90 minutes to convince an A.I. judge, played by Rebecca Ferguson, of his innocence. While it gets a bit goofy and stretches credibility to the limit, “Mercy" gets to its over-the-top climax in an entertaining...

It’s double feature time for fans of stalwart actor Ralph Fiennes. "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" is the fourth installment in the horror series about a zombie infection. Fiennes plays a doctor who confronts human evil worse than that exhibited by the zombies. While gripping, well-made and genuinely scary, its graphic and sadistic violence approaches the level of torture porn. Fiennes pops up a...

In the very adult comic drama "Is This Thing On?" Will Arnett plays a man who tries out standup comedy as a way to cope with his impending divorce. Strong performances by Arnett and Laura Dern propel this empathetic tale, well directed by Bradley Cooper, who also has a funny supporting role. A number of noted comics appear as cynical versions of themselves. While fictional, the movie inspired by t...

Happy New Year. It’s time to look back and name my top ten movies, the cream of the cinematic crop for 2025. 10) THE SECRET AGENT is an oddly structured but involving Brazilian paranoia thriller set during that country’s political strife in 1977. 9) WEAPONS is an extremely original and genuinely unnerving horror chiller about 17 children who mysteriously disappear from the same grade school class....

Timothée Chalamet proves once again that he's the real deal in the whacky comic drama, "Marty Supreme." It's an offbeat character study from filmmaker Josh Safdie, set in the 1950s and involving the misadventures of a manipulative, conceited but somehow likable table tennis phenom. While fictional, it's inspired by the remarkable life of ping pong ace Marty Reisman. "Marty Supreme" is supremely wa...

"Avatar: Fire & Ash" is the third entry in the phenomenally successful sci-fi franchise, and delivers exactly what you'd expect, 3 hours and 12 minutes of spectacular visuals and zippy action. The story, however, is very repetitive and has little to offer that's new. Plus, there's no real sense of peril. The attraction is the remarkable eye candy, so if you opt to see it, go ahead and splurge...

The Netflix whodunit "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery" is the third movie in filmmaker Rian Johnson's tongue-in-cheek series featuring Daniel Craig as private detective Benoit Blanc. This time out, a young priest played by Josh O'Connor is accused of murdering a charismatic monsignor. The all-star cast includes Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner and Kerry Washington. They’r...

The outstanding drama "Hamnet" is a speculative period piece about the inspiration behind Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Anchored by terrific performances by Paul Mescal and Jesse Buckley as Shakespeare and his troubled wife Agnes, it's an emotionally involving tale, adapted by director Chloe Zhao from Maggie O'Farrell's award-winning novel. Perhaps surprisingly, "Hamnet" is a better film than Zhao's pre...

The comic fantasy "Eternity" takes the romantic triangle concept to a multidimensional level. Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller and Callum Turner star in the tale of an afterlife weigh station, where a woman must decide whether to spend eternity with her husband of many years or her first husband who died decades earlier. The concept is better than the execution, but a likable cast gives this rom-com...

Okay, Ozians. The wait is finally over. The second and final part of the big screen adaptation of the Broadway musical "Wicked" is finally here. In "Wicked: For Good," Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba and Ariana Grande's Glinda use their vocal powers for good, providing a long but fitting climax. Both films combined have a running time of over 5 hours and, yes, it's padded. But thanks to spectacular produc...

"The Running Man" is a remake of Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1987 dystopian action thriller based on a Stephen King book. Oddly enough, it was set in 2025. This time out, Glen Powell plays a man desperate for money for his family, who agrees to appear in a TV reality game show where he attempts to outrun a team of murderous bounty hunters to win a billion dollars. Director Edgar Wright, who made "Baby...

Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro's dream project "Frankenstein" is now on Netflix. There is much to be admired in this visually stunning adaptation, including strong performances from Oscar Isaac as the egotistical creator and especially from Jacob Elordi as his misbegotten creation. While it's certainly worth a watch, this version adds some curious elements that resemble superhero movie...