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2/5
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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
(2019)
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Laurence Boyce
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Rise of Skywalker is less a film and more a series of moments strung together to please a cabal of corporate overlords.
Posted Apr 15, 2020
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2/4
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Brightburn
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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This is an ambitious attempt to merge the underbelly of the superhero craze with the ubiquitous broadness of horror but the whole misfire is as futile as Superman licking a Kryptonite postal stamp.
Posted Jun 03, 2019
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2/4
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Aladdin
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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...one cannot help but see this recycling of a beloved festive fable as nothing but an opportunistic money grab. Today's Aladdin should have rubbed its own lamp and wished for the flavored footnotes of its legendary animated counterpart from yesteryear.
Posted May 30, 2019
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1.5/4
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Hellboy
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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When all is said and done this cockeyed, combustible comic book caper is a manic mess. Here's looking to finding a suitable firehose that can cool down the shoddy firestorm that is the baseless and bludgeoning 'Hellboy'.
Posted Apr 15, 2019
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3/4
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Shazam!
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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[An] engagingly cheeky and robust popcorn pleaser. In any event, 'Shazam!' is a heroic hoot for the ages.
Posted Apr 11, 2019
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3/4
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High Life
(2018)
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Frank Ochieng
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[A] probing arthouse SF space adventure. 'High Life' is one of the more daring and distinctive SF space-dwelling showcases one will view enthusiastically with strange appreciation and curiosity.
Posted Apr 09, 2019
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3/4
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Us
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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The structured anxieties and tampering of normality, gives 'Us' its distinctive realm of descriptive cynicism and shock. Fittingly, Peele's pet project brings a whole new definition to courting face-to-face double trouble.
Posted Mar 28, 2019
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2/4
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Captive State
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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Captive State feels labored in murkiness and confusion...another derivative disaster movie basically flexing a basic bicep of puff-piece paranoia.
Posted Mar 24, 2019
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2.5/4
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How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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Undoubtedly playful, smart, perceptive and message-driven DeBlois and all involved stack 'The Hidden World' with its share of appeal and bubbly wonderment.
Posted Mar 02, 2019
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2/4
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Hell Baby
(2013)
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Frank Ochieng
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In short, all that remains is a diaper rash of an awkward horror-comedy that has pooped on its own meager pranks.
Posted Mar 01, 2019
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3/4
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The Changeover
(2017)
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Frank Ochieng
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This quaint and unassuming sleeper-of-a-creeper is magical and mystical in its curious presentation. New Zealand's 'The Changeover' is a character-driven frightfest at its small-scare creative core.
Posted Feb 28, 2019
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2/4
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Alita: Battle Angel
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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[The] cyborg sass grips, grunts, grinds, and groans but all the flashy manufactured mayhem feels as rambunctious as poking a dent in a pile of mashed potatoes.
Posted Feb 20, 2019
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2.5/4
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Happy Death Day 2U
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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Unfortunately, 'Happy Death Day 2U' does not have the endearing and inspired mockery of its predecessor. Nevertheless, this horrific hoot still registers with tangy, naughty aplomb.
Posted Feb 16, 2019
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2/4
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The Prodigy
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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Synthetically sadistic, 'The Prodigy' needs to be forgotten in the flimsy film factory of violent kiddie capers and it wouldn't hurt a bit if the miserable Miles was in need of a supernatural spanking as well.
Posted Feb 12, 2019
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2.5/4
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The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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The latest installment may be starting to show some wear and tear in its kooky conception. Thankfully, there is still some off-kilter playfulness and irreverence left over to convey the nutty-minded relevance of the Lego landscape.
Posted Feb 10, 2019
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2.5/4
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Painkillers
(2018)
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Frank Ochieng
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'Painkillers' certainly does not reinvent the wheel when it comes to the physicality or emotional presence of pain and suffering. [It] definitely works on the nerves and reinforces a certain kind of fixation that is more than imagined or hallucinatory.
Posted Feb 07, 2019
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3/4
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Mary Poppins Returns
(2018)
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Frank Ochieng
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In Marshall's spry and seasonal spectacle 'Mary Poppins Returns', this edition has its unique charm and rhythm that is undeniable...an imaginative escapist fable that believes in its sparkling whimsy.
Posted Feb 06, 2019
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2/4
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Miss Bala
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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Bala translated may mean 'bullet' in Spanish but Rodriguez's gun-toting gumption cannot stop 'Miss Bala' from shooting hysterical blanks all over the place.
Posted Feb 04, 2019
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3/4
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Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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[A] revealing and refreshingly insightful documentary. This is an inviting and noteworthy commentary on a particular aspect of film-making that gets constantly overlooked. Anyone ready for an updated version of 'Scream, Blacula, Scream'?
Posted Feb 03, 2019
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1.5/4
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Escape Room
(2019)
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Frank Ochieng
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The formulaic frightener 'Escape Room' is certainly not worth entering for its cheap, collapsed creepiness. Dismissive and exhaustingly familiar, 'Escape Room' simply goes through the telegraphed macabre motions.
Posted Jan 31, 2019
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2.5/4
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The Final Wish
(2018)
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Frank Ochieng
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Wish is strangely contemplative in its attempt to shine an eerie light on the mysteries of death and estrangement. Woodward's gory gem is more of the psychological horror variety as it adequately taps into the realm of a messy mindset gone haywire.
Posted Jan 30, 2019
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2.5/4
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Ender's Game
(2013)
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Frank Ochieng
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Filmmaker Gavin Hood's Ender's Game is an inquisitive sci-fi actioner that skillfully caters to the kiddie crowd while asking some mighty adult-oriented philosophical questions about the morality of war and the questionable boundaries of survival.
Posted Jan 14, 2019
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3.5/4
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Blue Caprice
(2013)
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Frank Ochieng
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The slow-burn outcry and low-key fury that exists in Blue Caprice is an unsettling bumpy ride one must be willing to take with measured poignancy, persistence and pain.
Posted Dec 14, 2018
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2/4
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Insidious: Chapter 2
(2013)
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Frank Ochieng
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Well, the gang are all back for a second helping of manufactured lunacy. Routinely, Chapter 2 tap dances to the tepid trappings of its conventional creepiness while never challenging the audience beyond the opportunistic reboot
Posted Dec 13, 2018
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3.5/4
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Frankenweenie
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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In step with this year's earlier released ParaNorman, the lively and loony Frankenweenie will capture the upbeat heart and soul craziness of Burton's flashy and flaky playground of absurdity. Sophisticated and colorfully conceived...
Posted Nov 19, 2018
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1.5/4
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Taken 2
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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This sequel barely uplifts itself from the predecessor blueprint as the acting is wooden, writing is pedestrian, editing is choppy and the cast looking like they would rather be attending a traveling clown rodeo in Tucson.
Posted Nov 19, 2018
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2/4
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Sinister
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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Cheapened scare sequences, an ambiguous monstrous myth, transparent characterizations and a mixed bag of a supernatural storyline barely put any Sinister thoughts in our heads worth contemplating.
Posted Nov 19, 2018
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1.5/4
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V/H/S
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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Relentlessly murky and meandering, V/H/S will have some wanting the urge to push the eject button on their 25 year-old VCR player.
Posted Nov 19, 2018
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1.5/4
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Paranormal Activity 4
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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Silly-minded and riddled with telegraphed convolution, Paranormal Activity 4's only legitimate scare tactic is its inevitable fifth sluggish serving waiting in the wings for a future flaccid presentation in a selected October month of your choosing.
Posted Nov 19, 2018
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3.5/4
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Skyfall
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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Skyfall is the Bond flick for the ages that resurrects whatever stagnation Agent 007's previous exploits may have encountered in less-than-stellar stretches. After all folks he's Bond...James Bond!
Posted Nov 19, 2018
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1/4
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Red Dawn
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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Notably, this wretched remake sat on the shelves for about a couple of years before the movie studio salvaged it in hopes of capitalizing on the ham-fisted hedonism of John Milius's 80s hit actioner...no need to rise at Dawn for this rancid reboot.
Posted Nov 19, 2018
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1.5/4
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The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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...a lifeless and limp exposition that needs a creative comb-over more than a tangled hairy back of a werewolf. Hopefully, Breaking Dawn Part 2 is the finishing tale of this tepid Twilight's last gleaming.
Posted Nov 19, 2018
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1.5/4
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Alex Cross
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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For this bad-to-the-bone blunder, Perry continues to have a Cross to bear in finding his niche away from his famed bible-thumping, box office lip service granny with the itchy trigger finger.
Posted Nov 19, 2018
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3/4
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Argo
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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Argo is spot on with its ode to the bombastic behind-the-scene banality of playground politics rooted in the seeds of cynicism and suspicion.
Posted Nov 19, 2018
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2/4
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Cloud Atlas
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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It is a shame that the forecast for this Cloud-y dramatization could not have coherently pieced together its pocket of inherent dullness among the intermittent sci-fi splash-and-dash.
Posted Nov 19, 2018
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2.5/4
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Oz the Great and Powerful
(2013)
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Frank Ochieng
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...a rather slightness to the sumptuous presentation. Although occasionally hackneyed, Raimi's spry narrative musters up enough suitable excitement to keep its carousing cheekiness intact.
Posted Nov 18, 2018
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3/4
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The Impossible
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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Compelling and oozing with conflict and complexity, The Impossible is a heartfelt horror show worth its weight in reflective, ghoulish gold.
Posted Nov 18, 2018
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2/4
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The Call
(2013)
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Frank Ochieng
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There is a particular twist and/or spoiler alert that cannot be revealed but let's just say that it still cannot compensate for much of The Call's stillborn material that plays like an annoying cellphone ringtone.
Posted Nov 18, 2018
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2/4
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Jack the Giant Slayer
(2013)
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Frank Ochieng
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It is so baffling why Singer, a noted moviemaker with an adventurous eye for cinematic curiosity, was drawn to such an uneventful and spotty computerized kiddie caper. This swashbuckling escapist eggroll of a movie is all dismissive chatter and static
Posted Nov 18, 2018
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1/4
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G.I. Joe: Retaliation
(2013)
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Frank Ochieng
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Still, overstuffing these brutish box office egos into this pandering, disjointed disaster area was not enough to sweeten the pot for this pointless piece of percolating piffle.
Posted Nov 18, 2018
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2/4
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Olympus Has Fallen
(2013)
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Frank Ochieng
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However, Olympus Has Fallen is an overactive cliché-driven concoction that panders to the familiar "White House under attack" formula that we have seen countless times over. Olympus has indeed fallen...and in so many unimaginable ways possible.
Posted Nov 18, 2018
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3/4
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Blancanieves
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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Blancanieves is a welcomed deviation from the conventional follow-the-dots tale of the Snow White legend in comparison to the usual standby layers of big-budgeted sprinkled CGI fireworks effects.
Posted Nov 18, 2018
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1.5/4
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The Host
(2013)
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Frank Ochieng
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Inexplicably, The Host is another convenient Meyer-induced supernatural soap dish that wants to exploit the girl power movie-going minions with schlocky cotton candy amour nestled behind an overused gothic-oriented gimmick.
Posted Nov 18, 2018
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2/4
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Welcome to the Punch
(2013)
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Frank Ochieng
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Invariably, Welcome To The Punch succumbs to its revolving murky machinations of cat-and-mouse foreplay that never quite develops into anything percolating or persistent.
Posted Nov 18, 2018
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3/4
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Room 237
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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Room 237 (the movie title referring to one of the rooms in The Shining's fictional Overlook Hotel) is a profoundly vibrant and unconventional documentary that is playfully mysterious, odd, and responsive.
Posted Nov 18, 2018
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2.5/4
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The Place Beyond the Pines
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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Nevertheless, Cianfrance's Pines is thoughtful, transfixing and a solid study on the skepticism of reinventing ourselves regardless for whatever price we must pay for our indelible fate to be unleashed.
Posted Nov 18, 2018
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1.5/4
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6 Souls
(2010)
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Frank Ochieng
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The woefully stagnant Souls-searching being performed in this face-switching frightfest is hopelessly inert and idiotic. As far as split-personality spook flicks are concerned, turn the other cheek regarding this thin slice-and-dice thriller.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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2/4
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The Brass Teapot
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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Given its magical mediocrity, The Brass Teapot could have brewed its lukewarm water of wit and whimsy much hotter than it was in surrealist execution.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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2.5/4
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Trance
(2013)
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Frank Ochieng
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Boyle gives Trance an ambience of penetrating suspense courtesy of Rick Smith's soothing musical score and the crisp cinematography of Oscar-winning Anthony Dod Mantle. Flamboyant yet slightly flawed, Trance is a spell-binding spectacle
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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2/4
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The Company You Keep
(2012)
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Frank Ochieng
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The Company that Redford and his celebrated cronies keep is refreshing...fine wine can age better with time. But as far as stimulating political pot-boilers are concerned it is time for these rocking chair radicals to surrender altogether.
Posted Nov 17, 2018
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