Mike's Movie Tips

 2/4 Starring: Linda Cardellini, Roman Christou, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen, Patricia Velasquez, Raymond Cruz, Tony Amendola, Sean Patrick Thomas Rated R for Violence and Terror Horror movies evolve.  In the 80s, they took the form the slasher movie, following the blueprint laid out by " Halloween ," and to a lesser extent, "Psycho."  In the 90s, it was the post-modern slasher, which scared audiences and poked fun at genre conventions.  The " Scream " franchise is a good example.  The turn of the millennium flirted with the religious horror movie, with entries like " End of Days " and " Stigmata ," but it was mostly dominated by found footage movies like "The Blair Witch Project."  Now that the last decade turns to a close, cinema is once again flooded by demon possession stories.  Or ghost stories.  Whatever they are.  Who knows?  They all involve a person or family that is terrorized by an entity from the netherworld that has fail...

 3.5/4 Starring: Robert DeNiro, James Franco, Frances McDormand, George Dzundza, Eliza Dushku, William Forsythe, Patti LuPone, Anson Mount Rated R for Language, Drug Use and Some Violence You can't change the past.  No matter how much you regret it and how badly you want to, what's done is done.  Things change.  Those happy days on the beach with your family from when you were a kid are gone.  They exist only in your memory.  And that kid you were beat up in school still bears those scars even after 25 years. But...if a person is lucky, they may get a second chance. Vincent LaMarca (DeNiro) has shut down.  He's a cop working long past his retirement simply because he doesn't know how to do anything else.  In reality, though, it's the only thing that prevents him from dealing with life.  When things get tough, he walks away and builds a wall around it.  It's a way to prevent the pain from reaching him.  And he has a lot of demons. ...

 3/4 Not Rated (probable PG-13 for Some Strong Language and A Violent Image) What is it about the American sense of humor that makes us laugh when someone tells the truth in ways they are most decidedly not supposed to?  I have a few friends who grew up in the south like Molly Ivins and are funny in the same way, so maybe it's just a Southern thing.  Whatever the reason, it's clear that Molly's upfront sense of humor woke a lot people up to the goings on in the Texas government, and later on, the United States itself. I've found that documentaries are the hardest for me to review.  I mean, what can you write about?  The normal talking points like acting, writing and so on don't apply.  What I can say is that, while this may not be the most skillful or even thoughtful documentary I've seen, it is fascinating and heartfelt. It's also hilarious.  No, really.  Molly was infamous for her biting wit, and she fearlessly took on just about everyone around...

 3.5/4 Starring: Josh Wiggins, Darren Mann, Taylor Hickson, Maria Bello, Kyle MacLachlan, Olivia Scriven, Niamh Wilson, Peter Outerbridge, Hailey Kittle, Kiana Madeira Rated R for Sexual Content, Language and Some Drug/Alcohol Use - All Involving Teens Finally, here is an LGBT movie without all of the trappings of "queer cinema."  There are no drag queens. No pride parades.  No flamboyance or kitsch.  Instead, it's about real people having real problems.  Coming to terms with your sexuality is never easy, and "Giant Little Things" never pretends that it is.  In fact, it illustrates the confusion, uncertainty and pain that come with it. Franky (Wiggins) is an average teenager.  He's smart, handsome, has a girlfriend named Cil (Kittle) who wants to take things to the next level with him (although he doesn't seem to be too interested in her), and has a spot on the swim team with his lifelong best friend, Ballas (Mann).  Ballas is a stud through and t...

 3/4 Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Tim Holt, Walter Huston Not Rated (probable PG-13 for Violence) The best stories are based not fan service, franchises and marketing, but on human nature.  The ones that demonstrate human behavior we can understand and identify with are going to more memorable than the ones that pack the most punch.  Such is the case with "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," which is about insidious nature of greed, and the price a man has to pay for falling victim to it. Two drifters, Dobbs (Bogart) and Curtin (Holt) are barely eking out an existence in the oil town of Tampico, Mexico.  In a visit to a moldy, run down hotel, they run into an old man named Howard (Huston), who inflames their imaginations with tales of riches from gold digging.  He warns them of the downsides of wealth and how it can turn even the most goodhearted man rotten.  All out of options, the three men go into the Mexican desert in search of gold.  Finding the trea...

 3/4 Starring: Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Lucy Fry, Noomi Rapace, Edgar Ramierez, Jay Hernandez, Enrique Murciano Not Rated (probable R for Strong Violence, Pervasive Language, Some Sexuality/Nudity and Brief Drug Use) What would happen if you added all the traditional elements of fantasy (magic, orcs, elves, and so on) and stuck them into our reality?  What would it be like?  Most fantasy seems stuck in the Middle Ages with swords and horses, and where the staple snack is bread and cheese.  In "Bright," elves drive in cars, orcs use shotguns, and magic is dangerous. It's such an intriguing idea that I'm surprised that no film has attempted to cross pollenate high fantasy with a modern day film.  Probably because the world-building barrier is so high.  To tell its story, the film must explain how the world works and how each aspect relates to each other.  With such a complicated premise, it would require a deft hand to pull this off.  Fortunately,...

 3/4 Starring: Emilio Estevez, Lane Smith, Joshua Jackson, Heidi Kling, Joss Ackland, Josef Summer Rated PG for Some Mild Language If you're a Millenial like me, there are a few movies that are mementos of childhood: "The Lion King," " The Sandlot ," " Clueless ."  It's not a long list, and aside from " The Lion King ," few are classics on par with " Casablanca " or "The Godfather."  But they struck a nerve for kids my age around that time, and were a handy go-to movie to watch during sleepovers.  "The Mighty Ducks" is one of those movies. Gordon Bombay (Estevez) is a hotshot lawyer infamous for bending the law and for showing up his rivals.  After a big win and a personal note of congratulations from his boss, Mr. Ducksworth (Summer), he decides to celebrate...and ends up with a DUI among other charges.  Ducksworth does some magic with the judge and as punishment he has to take a leave of absence and coach p...

 1.5/4 Starring: Al Pacino, Barbara Eda-Young, Cornelia Sharpe, Tony Roberts Rated R (probably for Some Graphic Violence, Strong Language, Drug Content, and Brief Nudity) Stories about police corruption are a dime a dozen.  In one way or another, they've been around since the dawn of film.  "Serpico," which is based on a true life case, is different in that it it takes a sociological look at the issue.  It looks at how bribery and rule-breaking create a culture of malfeasance that poisons everything it touches.  The approach has merit.  The execution does not. Frank Serpico (Pacino) has wanted to be a police officer ever since he was a kid.  A staunch idealist with unimpeachable morals, he views the occupation as a way to change the community in which he lives.  That's not the case with everyone else, as he soon discovers.  Everyone else is going through the motions and is more than willing to look the other way as fellow officers beat the he...

3/4 Starring: Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan, John Lone, Ziyi Zhang, Roselyn Sanchez, Alan King Rated PG-13 for Action, Violence, Language and Some Sexual Material The original " Rush Hour " was an almost perfect blend of action and comedy.  It had the sensational fights and stunts that raised the adrenaline and was consistently hilarious.  The chemistry between the two leads (and the box office numbers) necessitated a sequel.  It would, perhaps, be unfair to expect it to rise to the level of the original.  I mean, in the pantheon of action comedies, what else comes close?  " True Lies ," sure.  But that had Ah-nuld, Jim Cameron, and a budget that was about three times larger.  "Rush Hour 2" isn't in that same league, but it has more than enough action and laughs to satisfy. LAPD Detective James Carter (Tucker) is following his new buddy Lee (Chan) back to Hong Kong for a much-needed vacation.  But Lee is in work mode, and that prevents Carter from his...

2.5/4 Starring: Derek Luke, Denzel Washington, Joy Bryant, Novella Nelson Rated PG-13 for Violence, Language and Mature Thematic Material involving Child Abuse I gotta hand it to Denzel Washington.  He chose a tricky story to tell for his directorial debut.  This is the kind of movie that can go wrong in so many ways, and sadly it does.  Telling a tale that covers such emotional material requires a deft touch that eludes the actor.  I give him props for trying, but the reality is that calling the film uneven is an understatement. Antwone Fisher (Luke) is a Navy sailor with a hair-trigger temper.  After assaulting a senior officer, he is demoted and forced to talk to a psychiatrist.  Antwone thinks it is a waste of time, and tells the doctor point blank.  Dr. Jerome Davenport (Washington) has no problem with this.  Antwone must undergo three sessions with him, and they don't start until the young sailor begins to talk.  They remain at a state ...

1.5/4 Starring: Tom Hendryk, Chris Lines, Helen Crevel, Mark Topping, Marcus Langford Not Rated (probable PG-13 for Violence and Language) In a strange way, movies like "The Haunting of Alcatraz" are a comfort to me.  No matter how many movies I see or how good the year's line up is, there is always going to be a healthy crop of grade-Z dumpster fires like this.  A dive in the discount bin or streaming services will lead me to a seemingly endless quantity of candidates for my annual Bottom 10 list, which will certainly include this lame excuse for a horror movie.  If only watching this movies wasn't such a drag... Charlie Schmidt (Hendryk) has come to Alcatraz with the goal of obtaining a job.  He's all but begging the Warden (Topping), although he has his reasons (one of the stipulations of his trust fund is that he get a normal job and a good recommendation from his boss).  The Shakespeare-quoting Warden, after insulting Charlie's college education and his l...

2/4 Starring: Tzi Ma, Christine Ko, Hong-Chi Lee, Yo-Hsing Fang, Kunjue Li, Kuei-Mei Yang, Joan Chen Rated PG for Some Thematic Elements, Language, Smoking and Brief Sensuality "Tigertail" is the bleakest, most depressing, movie I've seen all year.  I don't mean that in a positive way.  It does provoke an emotional reaction and there is a payoff, to be sure.  But the reward just isn't worth the investment or 90 odd minutes of despair. Two stories are told in tandem.  One is a young man (Lee) living in Taiwan.  After the death of his father, he was sent to live with his grandmother while his mother looked for work.  There, he met a girl named Yuan, with whom he befriended.  As a young man, he and Yuan reconnect and fall in love, but marriage is out of the question because she is wealthy and he is not.  When his boss offers him an opportunity to marry his daughter Shenzhen (Li) and go to America, he reluctantly accepts so he can provide a comfortabl...