RIDE LIKE A GIRL Review —This Family-Friendly Film Trots Out the Girl Power
Ride Like a Girl review — Critic Staci Layne Wilson, who is also an accomplished equestrian, says it’s a triple crown winner of a family flick. Rachel Griffiths, mostly known as an actor (Six Feet Under) directs a plucky Teresa Palmer (Hacksaw Ridge) in Ride Like a Girl, the inspiring true story of jockey Michelle…
ONWARD Review — Our Kid Critic Thinks It’s Magical
Onward review — 11-year-old Betty Ordoña thinks Pixar’s latest animated adventure is the next best thing to playing Dungeons and Dragons. In a modern world populated by mythical creatures, magic is all-but forgotten and centaurs and cyclops live ordinary lives, holding down jobs and going to cafes. Elf brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot (Tom Holland…
THE WAY BACK Review — Ben Affleck is Moving in This Surprising Double-Redemption Film
The Way Back review — Ben Affleck’s very personal film does’t go as expected. From the outside, the trailer or the score, you might get the impression that The Way Back is your typical redemption film, where a drunk with a heart of gold hits rock bottom, then has a religious/rehab epiphany and changes his…
ONCE WERE BROTHERS Review — Robbie Robertson and The Band in an Electrifying and Edifying Music Documentary
Once Were Brothers review — the story of a rock group, not too different from many stories of rock groups, but a fascinating and at times heart-wrenching tale. The Band, led by Robbie Robertson, lasted less than a decade, but the group’s influence is undeniably eternal. They backed Bob Dylan when he went electric, inspired the…
THE CALL OF THE WILD Review — Good Boys, Buck and Harrison Ford!
The Call of the Wild review — A new take on an old classic, this story of a dog with a heart as big as Alaska is truly fetching. Why are so many viewers skittish about seeing the latest big screen retelling of The Call of the Wild when they hear the dogs are animated?…
DOWNHILL Review — The Slippery Slope of Family Relations
Downhill review — Will Ferrell and Julia Louis Dreyfus make this American remake of a Swedish classic consummately watchable. Every parent, or anybody who’s ever been responsible for a loved one, hopes that in the case of an emergency, they will instinctually rise to the occasion and go into full protection mode. When put to…
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG Review — Our Kid Critic Says It’s Fast But Not Fascinating
Sonic The Hedgehog review — 11-year-old critic Winston Ordoña explains what’s behind it, and what’s likely ahead for it. Sonic The Hedgehog is a movie based on a Sega video game where a super-fast blue hedgehog from space runs from the evil Dr. Robotnik. This movie doesn’t have as much fan service as I expected, but…
THE VENTURES: STARS ON GUITARS Review — A Daughter’s Labor of Love Results in an Epic Rock Doc
The Ventures: Stars on Guitars review — A stylish rock doc that tells the astonishing story of the birth of a genre, and how it influenced some of the great guitarists of our time. If the mention of the rock group The Ventures doesn’t immediately bring to mind epic surf guitar songs like “Wipeout” and “Hawaii…
BIRDS OF PREY Review — Swooping and Soaring in a Fury of Color and Crime
Birds of Prey review — There’s no doubt this unorthodox origin story will soar. I feared for this film, officially titled Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. Critics screenings were few and far between, and there was a Wednesday before opening review embargo, both factors generally signaling that a studio…
THE LODGE Review – Snow Problem
Staci Layne Wilson’s The Lodge review says it’s both chilling and chilly — a cold winter’s must-see. If you like weird, wintry chillers, then The Lodge should be on your list of must-sees. Using a harsh and unforgiving landscape as the backdrop to an isolated dwelling to great effect (think: The Shining or The Thing),…
