Ricky Miller, Entertainment Editor
| July 22, 2024
The director of “Twisters,” Lee Isaac Chung, is no Jan de Bont, who called the shots on the original “Twister” in 1996. This storm chasers actioner is not as showy, even though social media star Tyler, played by Glen Powell (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “Hit Man”) fancies himself as a tornado wrangler. His ego is as big as the gathering dark clouds. He even has a picture of himself on his T-shirt. Also, in this one the storm chasers are extremely juvenile and immature. They run around like high school kids. Kate...
Ricky Miller, Entertainment Editor
| July 20, 2024
I’m surprised how much I enjoyed “Despicable Me 4.” Usually, by the fourth chapter a movie franchise runs out of steam. There are a couple of exceptions to the rule, the “Lethal Weapon Franchise” of the 1980s and ‘90s and the “Friday the 13th" horror series of the same era. We’re here to talk about the fourth entry in the “Despicable Me” franchise, however. A group of minions inadvertently become the test subjects for a new super serum called the Mega Minions, which manipulates their genes. There...
“A Quiet Place: Day One” is a movie I liked, but I don’t think it’s as good as the two previous entries in the series that were directed by John Krasinski. In the second sequel, which is a prequel, there are just two main stars, Lupita Nyong’o as Samira and Joseph Quinn as Eric. By now, most moviegoers are familiar with the premise: Make noise and the alien monsters pounce almost immediately. In “Day One,” New York City is invaded and almost all humans are on the verge of being wiped out. Samira...
I may be one of the only critics who have a positive opinion of “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1.” It has gotten a lot of bad reviews and publicity as well. Kevin Costner, who directs, stars and co-wrote this epic tale of the Old West, looks fit as a fiddle in his role and his Western garb. In the old days we would call him a matinee idol, but at 69 he’s aged way past that description. This is a dream project for Costner, who believes in this scheduled four-chapter movie saga so much that he invested a...
Ricky Miller, Entertainment Editor
| June 28, 2024
It took a while for the sequel to the animated comedy-adventure “Inside Out” to come out. Nine years, in fact. But when I heard about “Inside Out 2,” I was all in. The moviemaking team at Pixar/Disney knows what they’re doing every step of the way. In the sequel, Riley, voiced by Kensington Tallman (“Summer Camp”), is grown up and on her way to college. An athlete, she’s also trying to get a hockey scholarship. Of course Riley is dealing with a bevy of mixed emotions. Hence the reason for this...
Ricky Miller, Entertainment Editor
| June 22, 2024
This summer at the movies looks promising. The eight movies below are all films I’m looking forward to in some form or capacity. It all began with “The Fall Guy” in early May and is tentatively scheduled to end with a familiar battle with contemptible sci-fi aliens in mid-August. “The Fall Guy” (Opens May 3). I like director David Leitch. He’s done credible work with “Atomic Blonde,” which was amazing in 2017. “The Fall Guy” was a stunt-man TV show in the 1980s starring Lee Majors in the title role. In this...
Ricky Miller, Entertainment Editor
| June 19, 2024
“Boy Kills World” is a tongue-in-cheek comedy satire. Be forewarned, though, this one is extremely violent and not for the faint-of-heart. If you have an aversion to violence, you might want to move on. Bill Skarsgård, son of Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård (“Dune” and “Dune: Part II”), was so creepy as Pennywise the dancing clown in “It” in 2017 and the sequel in 2019. He portrays a deaf mute called Boy in this one. He’s seeking revenge on a group of thugs who murdered his entire family. I don’t like...
Ricky Miller, Entertainment Editor
| June 14, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” because it had no preconceived notions about where it was going or what it was going to do. If you’re there for a “Bad Boys” movie, this one delivers. A lot of people may still be turned off by Will Smith, who famously slapped Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022. He may be forgiven by his fans, however. The audience showed up big time for this sequel. “Bad Boys 4” is a big hit. This time around Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett...
I liked “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” but I didn’t love it.
This is a prequel to George Miller’s amazing “Mad Max” original in 1979. Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Queen’s Gambit” streaming series) takes on the role of Furiosa introduced by Charlize Theron in “Mad Mad: Fury Road” in 2015. Taylor-Joy portrays Furiosa as a kidnapped teen in this prequel. It’s a solid movie, but it’s missing part of the enjoyment mixture. It just isn’t as great as “Fury Road.” The sound mix is amazing, however. The speakers were rumbling...
I enjoyed “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” immensely. It’s so much fun. Henry Cavill, post his Superman roles in “Man of Steel” in 2013, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” in 2016 and “Justice League” in 2027, takes on the role of a real-life soldier in this Guy Ritchie-directed war comedy-with-drama that’s based on a true story. It’s kind of in the same vein as Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourous Basterds.” All the repercussions involved in war take place in sort of a “Dirty Dozen” fashion involving...
Despite an unspectacular opening weekend, “The Fall Guy” is an entertaining and engaging ride. It’s based on a 1980s TV show of the same title starring Lee Majors. In this version we have Ryan Gosling as Colt Seavers, a stunt man who never shows his face because he’s a body double for big Hollywood action megastar Tom Ryder, portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Bullet Train,” “The King’s Man). The plot involves Emily Blunt as filmmaker Jody Moreno, Colt’s old flame, who’s getting her big chance...
Disney’s animated adventure-comedy “Wish,” which opened in theaters in late November but began streaming on Disney+ April 3, was a disappointing flop to some, even though its worldwide gross is nearing $255 million. However, the disappointment is not for the reasons most may think. I went into this movie already skeptical after hearing everyone’s dislike for the film, and while I wasn’t surprised that it wasn’t my favorite movie ever, I disagreed with the other critics. Most people complained...
