Mike's Movie Tips

2.5/4 Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Judy Greer, Haluk Bilginer, Will Patton Rated R for Horror Violence and Bloody Images, Language, Brief Drug Use and Nudity Forty years ago, a little film called " Halloween " defined an entire genre.  By taking inspiration from "Psycho" and molding it into a new form, it gave birth to the slasher genre.  While undeniably scary and crafted with skill, it was also overrated.  The majority of the film felt like set up; by the time all the pieces were set, it was the final showdown with Laurie Strode and Michael Myers.  Despite the passage of time and attempt by shock rocker turned filmmaker Rob Zombie to reboot it, Michael never managed to truly die.  Now in 2018, Michael has come out of dormancy to do his best to make Haddonfield, Illinois into the largest graveyard and turn his special victim, Laurie Strode, into fish food. Laurie (Curtis) is actually ready and waiting for Michael.  Having lived in suc...

3/4 Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Toni Collette, Sam Trammell, Tracy Letts, Pawel Szajda Rated R for Language Throughout The problem with being a teen idol is that it's fleeting.  As soon as your franchise is over or you get pimples, your career is doomed to a TV spot if your lucky and reality TV if you're desperate.  From the moment he got the once-in-a-lifetime role of The Boy Who Lived, Daniel Radcliffe has been actively carving out a career outside playing Harry Potter.  From the TV movie "My Boy Jack" and "December Boys," which I don't know if anyone saw, to his controversial stage appearance in "Eqqus" (opposite his "Harry Potter" co-star Richard Griffiths, who if memory serves defiantly defended his decision to appear nude on stage), it's hard to imagine that Radcliffe took a year off filming to be a normal teenager. Even after "Harry Potter" franchise wrapped up in 2011, Radcliffe has stayed busy.  While he...

I can safely say that there is no movie that has occupied my thoughts as much as Martin Scorcese's "Silence."  I've thought about it every day since I saw it on January 18th, 2017.  It's hard to believe at first, but not so much when I think about it since Martin Scorcese and I approach this with similar mindsets.  We were both Christians growing up (he was Catholic while I was Episcopalian) but are now agnostics.  And while faith has been a little testy for my once I admitted to myself that I was gay, it was a devastating personal tragedy two and a half years ago that put me firmly in the "agnostic" category.  I won't go into detail, but those who know me will know what I'm referring to.  That said, please don't ask. "Silence" is a curious film.  It certainly isn't your standard cinema fare, with a routine plot, stock characters, and so on.  In fact, for the most part such things are actually irrelevant.  This is a movie abou...

2.5/4 Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Kyle Chandler, Jason Clarke, Ciaran Hinds Rated PG-13 for Some Thematic Content involving Peril, and Brief Strong Language The Space Race always fascinates, and probably will continue to do so, because it speaks to the explorer in all of us.  There is a certain part of every human being that seeks to push boundaries, to answer the unknown, and to go where others have not.  When a movie taps into this, such as " The Right Stuff " or " Interstellar ," the results can be captivating.  However, much as he tries, Damien Chazelle can't generate the same thrill of discovery that those other films did. On paper, "First Man" is about Neil Armstrong's journey to becoming the first man to step on the moon.  However, as a result of trying to do too much and a poorly thought out screenplay, "First Man" is a muddled, confusing mess.  There's Neil, of course, well played by the always interesting Rya...

One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.  -Neil Armstrong For a while now, there has been a controversy growing about "First Man," the new biopic of Neil Armstrong's landing on the moon.  Specifically, the part about the fact that the American flag has been left out.  A few weeks ago, my dad sent me an article from Douglas McKinnon , who wrote an article blasting this decision with such claims as that it was insulting to Armstrong, that it was Hollywood liberalism going out of control, and so on.  Oh boy... The first criticism is Gosling's remark that Neil Armstrong didn't view himself as an "American hero."  A poor choice of words opened him up to a lot of criticism, but look at what he was referring to.  Both Gosling and McKinnon refer to Armstrong being very humble and uncomfortable with fame or the spotlight.  Gosling explained that there were 400,000 people that made that mission possible and that Armstrong didn't want to take th...

0/4 Starring: Jeffrey Wright, James Badge Dale, Alexander Skarsgaard, Riley Keough Not Rated (Probable R for Strong Brutal Violence, Language, Some Sexuality and Nudity, and Brief Drug Content) I hated this movie.  I hated every single stupid, pretentious, nonsensical line and plot development.  I hated the unpleasant violence, the incoherent plot and everything else about this piece of shit that dares to call itself a movie.  This is a disgusting and reprehensible piece of filth, all the more so because it apparently has aspirations of being something more profound when in reality its just an ego trip for director Jeremy Sauliner.  One that makes Seth Rogen's movies look restrained. In a small Alaskan town, three children have gone missing.  Presumably they have been taken by wolves.  Medora Sloane (Keough), whose son Bailey (Beckam Crawford), is one of the missing children, writes to famed wolf hunter Russell Core (Wright) for help.  When he ...

2.5/4 Starring: Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Taran Killam, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Ben Schwartz Rated PG-13 for Crude and Sexual Content Throughout, Language, Some Drug References and Violence "Night School" is an inconsistent but at times uproarious comedy.  When it works, the laughs are explosive.  But the stuff in-between them is straight out of a limp sitcom or an after school special.  The half dozen credited screenwriters could be the cause of the uneven nature of the film, since its leads, Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish, are always on their game regardless of what the film is trying to do. After panicking during a final exam, Teddy Walker (Hart) calls it quits.  Years later, he's defied the odds to have the life that anyone would drool over.  He's engaged to the wealthy bombshell Lisa (Echikunwoke), has plenty of money, and has just been handed the keys to the BBQ store where he is a master salesman.  But with every rise, there is certain to be ...

2/4 Starring: Khomotso Manyaka, Harriet Lenabe, Lerato Mvelase, Keaobaka Makanyane, Aubrey Poolo Rated PG-13 for Mature Thematic Material and Some Sexual Content The fault of "Life, Above All" is not that it doesn't have anything new to bring to the table.  Quite the contrary, in fact.  Rather, it's that director Oliver Schmitz doesn't find a way to make them gel.  Or make each element feel complete.  "Life, Above All" feels muddled and at times incoherent. Chanda (Manyaka) is struggling.  Her mother Lillian (Mvelase) is inconsolable after the death of her infant daughter, her father Jonah (Poolo) is only around when someone finds him and brings him home (which is a good thing since at such times he's usually falling down drunk), her younger siblings are impossible to manage, and her best friend Esther (Makanyane) is ostracized by the community since she's forced into prostitution.  But Chanda is a strong girl, and when her mother grows s...