 Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
Garry Marshall needs to be stopped. Yes, he is a legend, one of the true pioneers of television (having written for TV since the 60s and having created classics like Mork & Mindy, Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days and The Odd Couple) and director of iconic movies (Beaches, Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries, to name a few). But left untethered, Marshall seems to be looking to destroy as many different holidays as he can. The killing spree began in 2010 with his vapid film Valentine's Day and got even worse with the painfully awful New Year's Eve in 2011. Now, after a nice five-year break, Marshall returns to destroy Mother's Day, with his film, Mother's Day (opening today)...and destroy it he does. Incredibly, his latest effort (if you can even call it that) is the worst of his three "holiday" movies, a gauge-your-eyes-out, unfunny ensemble "comedy" (used loosely) that even a mother could find ways not to love.
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 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Buckle-up and get ready for the funniest cat-gangster-comedy you've ever seen. OK, so that is quite the narrow genre, but it's as original and as loony as it sounds. Keanu (opening today) is the first feature-film from comedy-duo Key & Peele (Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele), and its a massive success: If you love Key & Peele, you will love Keanu, but even if you have never heard of them...do you not like kittens, you horrible beast?  Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
There hasn't been an epic fail quite like The Huntsman: Winter's War (opening today) in quite some time. It's the supposed prequel to the 2012 film Snow White and the Huntsman starring Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth in the title roles, but this new film is much more of a sequel. The thought is, I'm assuming, that this "prequel/sequel" idea is actually supposed to be some sort of a plot twist, to hide the fact that the evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) has returned following her defeat at the hands of Snow White during the conclusion of the last film. In other words, they want you to think that it's a prequel going in, only to surprise you with the fact that it's a sequel once you are sitting in the theater. All of this, of course, implies that the audience gives a hoot about any of this: These characters, this world, this story. We do not.  Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Ethan Hawke gives a career performance as legendary jazz musician Chet Baker in the new biopic, Born to Be Blue (opening today). The movie takes certain stylistic liberties in its re-telling, focusing on Chet's musical comeback in the late 1960s after battling a drug addiction, some jail time and several relationship woes along the way.  Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
With star power like Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman and Ryan Reynolds, it's hard to create a dud. But somehow, Criminal (opening today) manages to be just that, despite a lot of promise, several exciting action scenes and some good performances.  Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
There will be many that laud The Invitation (opening today) as some sort of eventual cult-classic hit-in-the-making, and it's easy to see why: It is a very unique, tense, thrilling movie-going experience. But it is also an uneven mess, so much so that by the time things pick up with about 20 minutes or so left in the film, you may have already lost interest.  Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Don't dismiss the live-action re-make of Disney's Jungle Book (opening today) as simply a remake. It's more of a re-invention, and it's a sure-fire success.  Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Jake Gyllenhaal has been on a roll as of late, choosing a string of extremely interesting characters to play over his last few films. There was the psychological thriller, Enemy, the high-brow sci-fi flick Source Code, and the acclaimed boxing epic, Southpaw, to name a few. And to name a few more, how about his roles in End of Watch, Prisoners or Everest? Among all of these achievements however, Gyllenhaal's best performance in recent years was as the psychopath Louis Bloom in 2014's Nightcrawler, a role that should-a, would- a, could-a been nominated for an Oscar. Unfortunately for Gyllenhaal (and us), his streak comes to a smashing, sudden halt with Demolition (opening today), a severely misguided drama that explodes into bits and never quite comes back together.  Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Strong, solid performances by Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen aren't quite enough to pull I Saw the Light (opening today) from the shadows of mediocrity.  Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Criticism is art, says most professional critics like the one profiled in the new documentary City of Gold (opening today). Jonathan Gold is a semi-famous food critic who rose to popularity by discovering restaurants and food trucks off the beaten path. He loves food, and loves what he does, yet has a simplistic, descriptive style that "normal" non-critic-types can relate to. And while this documentary isn't as inventive or exciting as some of the dishes Gold critiques, it does enough to satisfy the senses. |
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October 2024
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tom santilli movie reviews
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and
the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus.
He also is the featured film critic appearing on WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit,
and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020.
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