For the last four years it has been customary that every Monday the Eentertainment section of The Gleaner would contain a review of a film playing in the local cinema. Unfortunately, for the time being, that will no longer be the case. This is due...
Movies deal with several ideas, but more often than not, chief among them is identity. In films, identities are several, and expose us to a wide variety of peoples. Our favourite movies often have characters we can relate to, in situations we find...
The world of Onward is the familiar mixed with fantasy. On the one hand, you have all the usual signs of modern-day city living, but on the other, the creatures are like those often seen only in the books of Tolkein. It’s a world where magic once...
The year 2018 saw the release of an amazing action film called Upgrade. Initially, I reviewed it as being “some of the most imaginative, fun and wildly expressive” action I’d seen in a long time. Sadly, since Upgrade there hasn’t been anything to...
Movie trailers are a funny thing. They’re meant to get you hyped, but there’s a balance to making a good one. Show too much and you ruin the movie. Show too little, and there’s nothing to get excited about. Show your character as a mutated,...
Birds of Prey is only an hour and 49 minutes, but in that time it establishes itself so strongly. Yet, the language of the film is a known one. The movie has the DNA of Deadpool, and Scott Pilgrim vs The World, combined into the mutated one-of-a-...
Upon opening, the film shows promise. The tale of Doctor Dolittle and his wife traversing the world unfolds in beautifully simple animation. It’s a touching beginning to what is otherwise a turgid and unmitigated disaster of a film. After a...
In the 25 years it has existed, I’ve never seen a film from the Bad Boys series. If you asked me the names of the characters, I would have said “Fresh Prince and Martin”. Still, even with my limited knowledge, I could tell you of a few iconic...
From the moment I first saw the trailer for Sam Mendes’ 1917, I was intrigued. In it, the main character is running towards the camera and suddenly the film is cropped to only be seen through the text ‘1917’. It was a neat trick of editing that...
Considering how many parodies there have been made for movies like Like A Boss, it’s a wonder that they still exist. Then again, it shouldn’t be that surprising. Comedies cost next to nothing to make, and they’re flocked to by the very people they’...
When Martin Scorcese compared superhero movies to theme park rides, he did so attracting the ire of fans the world over. Though his comments weren’t unfounded, I couldn’t help but find them reductive. A theme park ride has little story, character...
I can’t help but feel a disconnect from period pieces. Everything about them is as foreign to me as the lands of Mordor. The way they speak, the way they move, even the way they dress bountifully in ruffled garments. All of this amounts to a film...
Jumanji: The Next Level is technically the third Jumanji film, but it has all the makings of a second film in a franchise. That makes sense, considering the last Jumanji movie felt more like a reboot than a follow-up to the Robin Williams original...
There’s a moment in the middle of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker when Rey is approached by a new droid. It takes a step back as she reaches her hand out, bringing her to the conclusion that it had been harmed before. “It’s all right,” she says. “...
Making a whodunnit for modern audiences is tricky. It’s next to impossible to trick the audience. Even in the event that the diabolical plot is intricate enough to fool, it likely will be accused of trying too hard. On some level, it has to be...
It seems odd to think that Frozen came out over half a decade ago. For some reason, it seems like it was just yesterday that the world was introduced to Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Christof, and, of course, Sven, the talking reindeer. Perhaps it’s because...
Reaching the end of a decade is always considered a time of reflection. We take stock of everything that happened and how those things defined the decade. They are judged by not only their quality but also their percussive impact. Without a doubt,...
Making a movie about Harriet Tubman is a near-impossible task. A quick perusal of her Wikipedia page tells you she was a woman whose only obstacle to continuing her heroism was death itself. Not to mention the severe consequences if you get her...
Will Smith is one of the most versatile actors of his and his son’s generations. He’s been a comedian, a ladies’ man, an action hero, an inspiration to humankind, and Hitch. For a leading man like that, the only suitable opposite is, of course,...
We live in a world where everything that’s old becomes new again, but I’m honestly surprised there’s a new Addams Family movie. Beloved franchise aside, surely there comes a point when the creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky family stops being...
There have been many comic-book villains to grace the silver screen, each of them ranging somewhere between instantly forgettable and memorably iconic. Those who fall towards the latter usually get more than one incarnation. The pinnacle of these...
Imagine a movie about an outcast main character, typically a young child or an adolescent, who has a particular vocation that he’s especially skilled at, but may or may not be the root of his ostracism. After the main character goes to his secluded...
Deep in the perilous empty of outer space, the once-thought-dead Dr Clifford McBride may actually be alive, hiding out near the edge of the solar system. This potential revelation comes with a threat to all human existence known as ‘the surge,’ a...
The year is 2007. The room is pitch black, with only flashes of neon to light the way. Booming speakers deafen any hope of meaningful conversation. Our main character, Dorothy/Destiny, played by Constance Wu, is increasingly disillusioned by her...
There’s a point about one-third way into the film that’s crucial to the entire movie. The members of the Losers club sit down, having not seen each other in over two decades. Each of them older, thought to be wiser, and yet unable to recall much of...
