To the '90s and Beyond! Film Podcast

Acclaimed director J.A. Bayona takes over the reins of this lucrative franchise with JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM, the follow-up to 2015’s biggest box-office smash.  Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard reprise their roles, this time having to figure out if the dinosaurs on Isla Nublar should be saved, or if the active volcano that’s in full flow should course correct their existence...

First-time feature film director Ari Aster makes a splash in this thoughtful and well-acted blend of family melodrama and supernatural horror.  Toni Collette’s performance anchors this tale of a mother trying to cope with the loss of her own manipulative mother, and a couple of teenage kids who seem to be losing their way in the death’s wake.

11 years after we last saw the Ocean’s gang pull down a big heist, we have Danny Ocean’s sister, Debbie (Sandra Bullock), freshly out of prison and ready to hatch a new plan to get herself and her fellow female partners in crime millions by lifting a one-of-a-kind diamond necklace worth over $150 million.  Steven Soderbergh steps into the producer chair in this Gary Ross-helmed attempt...

Ron Howard directs this spin-off prequel, showing us how the iconic reluctant hero Han Solo went from his lowly existence on the planet Corellia to becoming one of the best smugglers int he galaxy. Alden Ehrenreich, Amelia Clark, Donald Glover and Woody Harrelson star in this big budget space adventure.

Ryan Reynolds returns as the mer with a mouth, this time trying to mature into potential fatherhod, with DEADPOOL 2, the follow-up to 2016's surprise smash hit. This one introduces Josh Brolin as Cable and the pulling together of their mutant super-team, X-Force, as Wade Wilson seeks to stop the wrath of a vengeful, troubled teen about to go on a killing spree.

Steven Spielberg adapts Ernest Cline's best-selling novel about a future in which many, if not most, of the world escape into a massive multiplayer online game known as the OASIS. The creator of the OASIS has passed away, but as a final act, promises to bestow upon the first finder of three hidden keys the actual "keys to the kingdom" with full ownership of the wildly popular virtual realm.

Alicia VIkander takes the starring role in this reboot of a film series that once famously starred Angelina Jolie, TOMB RAIDER, based on the wildly popular video game. Unlike most other films based on games, this one tries for a more traditional approach to its storyline, and with a cast that includes a couple of Oscar-winning actresses, does it break the game-to-film curse?

This follow-up to the off-the-wall Gullermo del Toro kaiju flick sees more emphasis on action and effects with less overhead. Kaiju are gone but something is causing the new drone Jaegers to go amiss. Does new director Steven DeKnight do justice to the original?

Ava DuVernay gets her first crack at a big-budget adventure, and the results have been wildly mixed among critics and fans alike. Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling and Chris Pine star in this extravagant romp through space and time for one tween in search of her long-lost father.

Duncan Jones tries to course correct after the disappointing WARCRAFT with the passion project he has been wanting to make since before his smash debut feature, MOON. MUTE is a futuristic noir starring Alexander Skarsgard, a mute nartender searching for his missing girlfriend amid the seedy underbelly of Berlin in 2052. Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux play the wisecracking baddies that just might hav...

Alex Garland follows up EX MACHINA with another heady science fiction exploration of the human condition, this time showing us how we either must fight or adapt to change, and how adverse conditions may result in us destroying ourselves in the process of that fight. Natalie Portman and Oscar Isaac star.

From the pages of Marvel Comics comes Black Panther, directed by the very skilled Ryan Coogler, starring Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa. The MCU continues its roll in delivering a quality entertainment, this time with more to think about beyond the run time than usual blockbuster fare.

The third and final film in the FIFTY SHADES trilogy sees the much anticipated marriage of Anastasia Steele to mega-billionaire Christian Grey, while they overcome trust issues, the question of children, and a psycho maniac hell-bent on revenge.

At last, the Justice league puts together Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash (and Cyborg) into one film. Is it worth all the hype?

Frances McDormand shines in this potent dark comedy from Martin McDonagh, playing a grieving mother who goads the local police force to action when they haven't found any leads to her daughter's grisly death. Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell support.

Saoirse Ronan stars in Greta Gerwig's splash solo directorial effort that takes from her own life as a teen in Sacramento, in LADY BIRD, one of the best teen comedies to come out in many years. Laurie Metcalf is fantastic as the mother who has trouble letting her 'lady bird' fly from the nest.

Taika Waititi takes over the reins of the Thor segment of the MCU and employs lots of his trademark humor, resulting in perhaps the funniest of the Marvel films to date. Thor, Hulk, and lots of surprises add up to a wild and funny ride.

John Cena voices the titular bull who would rather sniff flowers than fight against matadors. Blue Sky Studios offers another colorful animated adventure for younger viewers. Based on the children's book by Munro Leaf.

Rian Johnson takes over the reins of the venerable franchise. Does he hit a new height, or is this progressing the wrong direction? Fans are debating, and I offer my take here.

Guillermo del Toro returns to the dark fairy tale genre in this story about an unlikely relationship that develops between a mute janitor and a strange creature that is part man and part fish.

Taking a look at Pixar's latest big film, Coco, which incorporates the Dia de los Muertos tradition into yet another heartwarming family tale.

This true story begins at the onset of World War II when, within days of becoming Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill has to face one of his most critical of trials: contemplating a peace treaty with Nazi Germany, or standing firm to fight for the principles, independence, and free will of a nation. As the seemingly insurmountable Nazi forces trample through Western Europe and invas...

A podcast review of Denis Villenueve's continuation of Ridley Scott's 1982 science fiction masterpiece.

The riots and looting in Detroit, 1967, were sparked by the mostly white police force coming into a predominantly black neighborhood in order to infiltrate a nightclub operating without a license, which ended up with yet another incident of police aggression and harassment in the area that has seemingly gone on unchecked. Specifically, the film concentrates on the Algiers Motel incident, which whi...

The action in It takes place in the fictional small town of Derry, Maine, where we mostly follow a group of about seven adolescents on their break during the summer. The de-facto leader of the group, Bill Denbrough, has recently been plagued by thoughts of his younger brother Georgie's disappearance, though we in the audience know that the tyke is but the latest victim of a sewer-dwelling, fear-fe...