When we meet Lord Doyle (Colin Farrell) in the opening scene of BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER, he's waking from a hell of a night in a suite at the Wynn Macau. Did he win a fortune or lose one? Only the amount of alcohol consumed and the disarray of the upscale room are certain. The TV blares, stacks of room service trays cover every table and it looks like Lord Doyle has been in the room awhile. Farrell dazzles in the opening sequence, carving out a mysterious character who's liv

One of the best Stephen King adaptions I've ever seen, THE LONG WALK is relentlessly dark, cruel and a prime example of a literary adaption that honors and expands the original work. Devotees of the novel may be upset at the changes from the text, KIng's first, but they serve the film well. Taking dystopian to its lowest lows, we are introduced to a smaller scale version of "The Hunger Games", long before that novel was ever published. King wrote THE LONG WALK way back in 196

I love a good shark movie. I'll usually swim out of my way to enjoy even a mildly enjoyable shark thriller. THE DEVIL'S MOUTH is absolute chum that bores, stinks and generates unintentional laughs in its ineptitude. So, where do I dive into this one? After opening with some beautiful shots of Thailand that made me really want to visit these beaches, we meet a group of early 20-somethings who are so self centered, obnoxious and dull that I couldn't wait to see who was going to

For me, Christopher Nolan films are events, something to be anticipated and savored on the big screen. He's given me some of the biggest IMAX thrills of all time with "Inception", "The Dark Knight Rises", "Oppenheimer"and "Dunkirk". His smaller scale 2006 "The Prestige" is an all-time favorite film. THE ODYSSEY never gets within a mile of those best Nolan films for me. I admire the sheer scale and grandeur of the filmmaking, absolutely. There's real presence and tangible thri

Proving that the superhero genre isn't dead, it's just been starving for a great film, SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY soars across the screen with huge action, big laughs and massive heart. The Dolby Cinema, sold out preview audience I saw it with went bonkers, as did I. It's fantastic to see theaters this packed with people again, it was a mad house. From its opening frames, the film delivers a web covered, treasure chest of great surprises, fun asides and some MAJOR plot points

A fascinating experiment that succeeds beyond my wildest expectations, MOTOR CITY is, on its surface, a high octane, dialogue-free Grindhouse action flick set in a very tangible 1977. It feels like a gritty 70's Charles Bronson film, blended with the pure style of Nicholas Winding Refn's hypnotic 2011 film, "Drive", but it has a pulse that's all its own. Alan Ritchson (Reacher) stars as Vietnam Vet John Miller, working a blue collar factory job in a Detroit that feels straigh

Packed with laughs, well cast actors having a blast and enough Pickleball to pack five courts, THE DINK made me laugh a lot. Jake Johnson was so hilarious on "New Girl" that I felt bad for him when his big co-starring role with Tom Cruise was part of "The Mummy", one of the worst films of the past decade. It wasn't his fault that thing bombed, but it's great to see him back in fine form, generating big laughs here. He stars as Tennis Pro Dusty "The Hammer" Boyd. As a supremel

Yesterday, on our 30th Wedding Anniversary, my wife and I re-watched ONLY YOU, a 1994 Romantic Comedy filled with great memories for us. We had seen it while we were dating and we chose one of Rachel Portman's orchestral tracks to be played at our wedding. It's a stunning score. Revisiting the film again, it still holds up beautifully, with a very young Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei generating big laughs while stealing hearts. The film opens with teenager Faith (Tammy Mi

Can you believe it will be 50 years this December since we first met Rocky Balboa & Sylvester Stallone? An all-time sports movie classic with a behind-the-scenes rags to riches story of its own, 1976's original ROCKY still packs a punch. Sylvester Stallone had appeared in small roles in Woody Allen's "Bananas" and "The Lords of Flatbush". His script for Rocky was his passion project and he was eventually offered $350K for the screenplay, a record at the time. In a Rocky-like

Grossing four times its $100 million budget, 2001's THE MUMMY RETURNS was that rare blockbuster sequel that outperformed the original hit. It's easy to see why. Everyone we loved in the first adventure is back for more and everything feels bigger in scope and execution. Other than the fact that it's about 15 minutes too long, THIS is how you deliver a follow up! Brendan Fraser is in fine form as adventurer Rick O'Connell, still chasing Egyptian artifacts with his wife Evelyn