One year ago, 'Wicked: Part One' impressed with its filled-to-the-brim talent roster and an equally stellar lineup of songs that stay with you (even if you don't necessarily want them to). Not what I'd call a structurally sound picture, its energy alone nudged it into the elite gathering of the best movies of the year...

1987's 'The Running Man', a sci-fi vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger, was a slick, cartoonish spectacle, probably most renowned for being an eerily accurate predictor for what would soon become reality entertainment. 2025's version of 'The Running Man', a star vehicle for Glen Powell, an equally ambitious but significa...

Probably the biggest question for the general public heading into 'Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere'; do I have to be a fan of the Boss to enjoy it? The answer, I'm happy to say, is no. ....although it certainly doesn't hurt. The fact is, this ain't your standard musical biopic. 'Deliver Me From Nowhere' is a bri...

The bad news about 'Good Fortune', a new feel-good comedy that pits the struggling working class against the ultra-rich?.....its very, very simplistic, almost paint-by-the-numbers approach to achieving a few laughs and a nice warm fuzzy feeling. The GOOD news about 'Good Fortune'? Its very, very simplistic, almost pai...

Both the good news AND bad news for the minds behind 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' - the bar for this venture is very, very low. But then, that's what happens when a seemingly surefire hit gets bungled again and again. The Fantastic Four are not just a PART of the Marvel Universe, they were really the spark for wh...

When Adam Sandler signed his gazillion dollar deal with Netflix a few years back, fans knew it was only a matter of time before he'd re-visit one of his classic goofball characters. And, with apologies to Billy Madison faithful, he probably chose wisely on which one to be the initial 'marquee' sequel. 'Happy Gilmore 2...

His suit is a bit loose, yes.....but the execution of the project fits like a glove. James Gunn's 'Superman' is everything you want in a comic book movie. I'll even go this far....with the various universes expanding at a dizzying rate, I dare say this could be the movie that rescues the cinematic superhero genre. An...

Can you really get TOO much of a good thing? If so, 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' seems to be the cinematic offering to the old adage. Let me be clear, this is a fantastic movie. It jams everything that's been so great about the Mission: Impossible series...the nail chewing tension, the clever MacGuffi...

Up until recently, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was in need of more than just a breath of fresh air...it downright required oxygen to remain alive. And if you word it that way, 'Thunderbolts' are indeed life savers. A sharp, energetic entry into the MCU with enough silliness to remind everyone that, yes, this stuff ...

What's more fun than a vigilante accountant? Adding his slightly unbalanced and equally dangerous vigilante brother. And there you have 'The Accountant 2'. It's been 9 years since Ben Affleck first appeared as Christian Wolff, the super-efficient hitman working for the highest bidders, crunching numbers when he's not...

"I need a win!". Yes, it's the catchphrase of Jason Momoa's character in 'A Minecraft Movie', but it could also be a caption for movie theatres in general over the last few months. With blockbuster hits few and far between, they finally HAVE that win....and it has arrived in the form of a most unusual packa...

From what I've learned about saturation divers, not only from the new film 'Last Breath' but the documentary of the same title that preceded it in 2019....you'd have to be on a different kind of level of courageous, and perhaps a little nuts, to do that job. Or perhaps a lot of both. In short, there's no question how ...

I'm a Marvel fan, but I'm also not blind. I realize there are flaws with 'Captain America: Brave New World', and I can understand why the boo birds have taken flight much like the new, winged titular hero of this franchise. But....personal opinion, here, of course...I believe both time and quantity have jaded the com...

DreamWorks Animation is on quite the roll. From 'The Bad Guys', the last 'Puss in Boots' sequel, and especially last year's epic 'The Wild Robot', their offerings are not only visually brilliant, but the content is spunky enough to attract both pint sized audiences and the big kids lucky enough to accompany them. And...

It's tough to imagine a motion picture with more pressure on it to perform than 'Wicked'. A big screen adaptation of the Broadway darling, 'Wicked'...which itself is associated with the beloved land of Oz, a story that generations have been in love with for close to 100 years....well, to be blunt, expectations for thi...

I'll admit right out front, I didn't think this would work. 'Gladiator II'? The term "jumped the shark" did come to mind. But then, that crazy genius Ridley Scott goes and ADDS sharks to the coliseum. And murderous foaming-at-the-mouth baboons. And most importantly, a psychotic he-hasn't-been-this-deler...

As a film reviewer, I recognize something good when I see it, and Jason Reitman's picture 'Saturday Night', capturing the madcap race to get the very first episode of 'Saturday Night Live' to air back in 1975, is good. It's very good. However, as a fervent 'Saturday Night Live' fan, I have to admit, there was a wee bi...

Creatively, 'Joker: Folie a Deux' swings for the fences. Unfortunately, it seems to be playing with a Nerf bat. Translation - you can have the most ambitious, most eclectic ideas on the planet, but if they're BAD ideas and don't have any weight behind them, your result ain't gonna go far. It won't connect, and it wo...

August already? Wow. Where does the season go? Hopefully you've had a chance to take in a few movies this summer. The Aisle Seat did, and thought we should pass along thoughts on what's hot and what's not over the last month.. Deadpool & Wolverine As much a clever comedy about corporate marketing as it is a supe...

Not near as outstanding as it is just plain solid, 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga' suffers the not entirely uncommon bad beat of sequels in the past - what came before it was SO damn good, to try and top it is a near impossible task. Here's what I do know after seeing 'Furiosa'...the Wasteland is always the perfect place to ...

If movies were graded on imagination alone, if heart was all that mattered, if good intentions won Oscars....well, suffice to say, 'IF' would be an absolute masterpiece. Oh, it's still a pretty great movie......IF you focus on what MAKES it great. Writer/director John Krasinski (who's also part of the cast of this one)...

At some point, the criminally underrated re-booted 'Planet Of The Apes' franchise will get its due. Oh, I realize the series has received generous reviews, and the box office take, beginning with 2011's 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes', continuing with 2014's 'Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes' and culminating with 2017's...

It's a little bold to brand 'The Fall Guy' as "based" on the 1980's TV series that shares the same title. Perhaps "inspired by" would be a better fit for a label, 'cause save for the primary character's name, his profession, and the truck he drives....this movie is its own unique animal. But thankf...

There are countless words you could find to describe the film 'Civil War'.... Disconcerting? Without question. Eye opening? Yes, that's two words, I know. Topical? Absolutely. Here's the one word that truly gives me the chills though, one in which you hope fiction never drifts into reality... Premonition. Currentl...