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The mash-up that is Life Itself from Dan Fogelman is quite the quagmire to digest. Dan Fogelman wrote and directed this simultaneously compelling and emotionally manipulative with an all-star cast whose characters’ stories intermingle with the subtlety of a city bus killing someone at a crosswalk. Yet, it is so […]

Life Itself Review: Does “Life” Find a Way?

September 21, 2018 in Movie Reviews tagged Life Itself / Movie Reviews by joeldamos

There is a terrific line in the film White Boy Rick—teased in the trailer—where someone responds the extraordinary true story of Rick Wershe Jr. (Richie Merritt) with, “Would you believe a 15-year-old kid was working for the federal government?” To which his father Richard Wershe Sr. (Matthew McConaughey) responds, aghast […]

White Boy Rick Review: Performances Elevate Matthew McConaughey Starring True ...

September 15, 2018 in Movie Reviews tagged Matthew McConaughey / Movie Reviews / White Boy Rick by joeldamos

Paul Feig’s A Simple Favor is a highly addictive noirish “thriller” with pitch perfect performances from its cast, comic undertones that are classic Feig, which all add up to a delightfully divine moviegoing experience. Anna Kendrick is Stephanie, a lonely suburban Connecticut single mother who operates a vlog and is […]

A Simple Favor Review: Blake Lively & Anna Kendrick Kill ...

September 14, 2018 in Movie Reviews tagged A Simple Favor / Movie Reviews / Paul Feig by joeldamos

That first Peppermint trailer had our anticipation shooting through the roof. There is something about Jennifer Garner in an action vehicle that pure movie magic. She was sensationally sublime in the TV hit Alias (that finished its run in 2006) and seriously killed it in 2007’s The Kingdom. Sure, there’s […]

Peppermint Review: Jennifer Garner Action Effort is Wasted

September 7, 2018 in Movie Reviews tagged Jennifer Garner / Movie Reviews / Peppermint by joeldamos

Searching is a timely film, for that there is no question. But, I would argue that a more apt descriptor for the online-only thriller starring John Cho is electric. Well, that and wildly inventive and an absolute cure for summer blockbuster fatigue. David Kim (Cho) experiences every parent’s nightmare when […]

Searching Review: John Cho Triumphs in Revolutionary Thriller

August 31, 2018 in Movie Reviews tagged John Cho / Movie Reviews / Searching by joeldamos

The capturing of the Nazi architect of Germany’s “Final Solution,” Adolph Eichmann, by Israeli forces should be a riveting, catch-your-breath cinematic journey. Largely, it is… but Operation Finale achieves that in the most unexpected of ways. What director Chris Weitz delivers—from Matthew Orton’s screenplay—is deliberate in every way. Those who […]

Operation Finale Review: Justice Served

August 30, 2018 in Movie Reviews tagged Ben Kingsley / Movie Reviews / Operation Finale / Oscar Isaac by joeldamos

The idea of melding puppets and raunchy, R-rated humor is not necessarily new. But, in the Melissa McCarthy starring The Happytime Murders, at least the concept tries to do something different. This is a world where puppets and humans live side by side and from what we see in the […]

The Happytime Murders Review: Happy Happy, Meh, Meh

August 24, 2018 in Movie Reviews tagged Melissa McCarthy / Movie Reviews / The Happytime Murders by joeldamos

How wolves evolved into man’s and woman’s best friend has been the subject of much research and speculation—and serves as the powerful plot of the new film Alpha from Sony and Columbia Pictures. Albert Hughes breaks free from his normal moviemaking partner, brother Allen (Menace II Society, Dead Presidents, From Hell) for a […]

Alpha Review: Doggone Divine

August 17, 2018 in Movie Reviews tagged Alpha / Movie Reviews by joeldamos

Crazy Rich Asians is a triumph for many reasons. The most pressing one is how its story, twists and turns, humor, romance and visual spectacle completely transcend race and region. Cinema’s best tales do that and in this age of the global box office, having a script that checks off […]

Crazy Rich Asians Review: Can’t Help Falling in Love

August 16, 2018 in Movie Reviews tagged Crazy Rich Asians / Movie Reviews by joeldamos