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This week film critic Tom Santilli reviews "Snowden," "Bridget Jones's Baby" and "For the Love of Spock."
Tom Santilli is a film critic for AXS.com, the current President of the Detroit Film Critics Society and member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. He appears on air weekly on the syndicated TV show "Movie Show Plus" and on "Critic Lee Speaking" on FOX-2 in Detroit. Follow him on Twitter: @tomsantilli
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 Gravitas Ventures, 2016. Leonard Nimoy has been gone now for over a year-and-a-half, but his legacy is encapsulated in the new, moving documentary film, "For the Love of Spock." And who better to tell the story than Leonard's son, Adam Nimoy, who turns this memorable little gem into a heartfelt, deeply personal two-hour film that is absolutely essential viewing for anybody who calls themselves a fan of "Star Trek." It's only logical that you would want to seek it out.
 Paladin, 2016. It's been over 20 years since screen icon Jerry Lewis headlined a movie, and oddly enough, he chose a drama for his big-screen return. The result is a mixed bag, as the film features a fine performance by Lewis, but he's stuck in a depressing slog of a movie. As the title character in "Max Rose" (opening today, Sept 16), Jerry Lewis plays every year of his age, which is now 90, as a down-and-out failed musician coping with the recent loss of his wife, whom he was married to for 65 years. Kerry Bishe and Kevin Pollak round out the cast, as Max's daughter and son, respectively, who are trying to care for their father while picking up the pieces of their own lives.
 Universal Pictures, 2016. Forget the forgetful sequel to the original "Bridget Jones's Diary": "Bridget Jones's Baby" (opening Friday, Sept. 16), is the more worthy successor to the hit 2001 comedy. Renee Zellweger - truly a sight for sore eyes - reprises her Oscar-nominated role, with original "Diary" director Sharon Maguire back on board as well to deliver the ongoing foibles of everybody's favorite train-wreck, Bridget Jones.
 Open Road, 2016. Few directors stamp their movies in the way that Oliver Stone does. An "Oliver Stone movie" means something in the same way a "Michael Moore documentary" does, in that you know that the filmmaker's strong voice will be inherent and will come through loud and clear on the screen in a way that seems different than most other directors. Stone has something to say, his movies have purpose, and he gives not a damn what others might think. He tackles controversial subjects and figures, and has been called everything from a "conspiracy theorist" to an "intellectual sociopath" and everything in-between. In that light, "Snowden" (opening today, Sept. 16), definitely fits snugly in the Oliver Stone film canon, and is right up his alley as far as subject matter. But some clunky dialogue, a muddled script, and some "too-on-the-nose" political soap-boxing leaves this Edward Snowden dramatization lacking the normal amount of Oliver Stone bite.
15 awesome video games that should be made into movies (complete with acting recommendations)9/14/2016  There have been very few good movies based on video games, but there is still a treasure-trove of great video games out there that are just waiting to be made into movies. A handful of video game movies are set for future release, but what great video games have still not made the leap to the big-screen but deserve to?
Let's take a look at some awesome video games - in no particular order - that Hollywood should consider making into movies, with some casting and production advice thrown in to help spur them along: As seen on the syndicated TV show "Movie Show Plus." movieshowplus.com This week film critic Tom Santilli reviews "Sully." Tom Santilli is a film critic for AXS.com, the current President of the Detroit Film Critics Society and member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. He appears on air weekly on the syndicated TV show "Movie Show Plus" and on "Critic Lee Speaking" on FOX-2 in Detroit. Follow him on Twitter: @tomsantilli  Warner Bros. Pictures, 2016. These are divisive times, and so it should come as no surprise that even real-American luminary Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger's hero-status is up for debate. Captain Sully, you may recall, was the pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 back in January of 2009, who was able to successfully land his commercial airline on the calm waters of the Hudson River after losing both engines to a flock of birds. Miraculously, all 155 passengers and crew lived to tell of Captain Sully's bravery and quick-thinking. But in Clint Eastwood's film, "Sully" (opening today, Sept 9), we learn that there was way more to the story than just what happened in the sky above New York City, and it asks the question: Was Sully really a hero?
 Goldeneye: 007, Rare/Nintendo, 1997. With tons of upcoming movies based on video games headed our way, we wanted to take a moment to recognize a handful of video games that flipped the expectation of "video game first, movie later."
As several movies often draw inspiration from a number of other mediums (like video games, comic books, or just regular books...remember those?), there are in fact a handful of great video games that were actually movies first...a rarity indeed. But alas, video games inspired by movies have not always had the best track-record. And have trust (here's looking at you E.T.: The Video Game), more often than not, a video game based on a movie just plain sucks. So which movies have overcome this stigma and have produced high-quality, memorable video games? Let's take a look:  Photo courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures, 2016. Used with permission. Director Derek Cianfrance has a real knack for capturing gritty realism. His last two films - "The Place Beyond the Pines" and "Blue Valentine" - seemed to center on people who were neither good nor bad, just flawed individuals living out their existence in the grey areas of life. Often these characters would be presented with choices, and Cianfrance would be much more interested in exploring how these individuals would learn to live with the consequences of their actions, rather than judge them in any way, or paint them as heroic or villainous. "Blue Valentine" did this marvelously and was one of the best films of 2010, and while "The Place Beyond the Pines" was much more epic and sprawling, the same framework was in place. So in his latest film, "The Light Between Oceans" (opening today, Sept 2), Cianfrance is still delving into familiar territory, but this time around, the tone he strikes feels way more artificial than any of his previous efforts, and despite some shining performances from his two leads, this lighthouse romance is never quite able to shine through the fog.
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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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