Mike's Movie Tips

 2.5/4 Starring: Christian Malheiros, Rodrigo Santoro, Vitor Julian, Lucas Oranmian Rated R for Language, Some Violence and a Sexual Reference Despite the presence of " City of God " director Fernando Meirelles and indie darling Ramin Behrani as the producers and a story that tackles an all too real tragedy, "7 Prisoners" feels like a rehash of old material.  What these men go through is horrible, but co-writer/director Alexandre Moratto makes a serious tactical error: he is apparently under the impression that no one in the audience knows that this kind of thing happens a lot.  Without a fresh approach or strong character development to bulk it up, "7 Prisoners" loses a lot of intensity and fails to deliver the gut punch it strives for. Mateus (Malheiros) is excited for the future.  He has an opportunity to make a living in the city and send money back home.  Going with him are three other local men.  The squalid living conditions nor the surrender of the

 1/4 Starring: Taylour Page, Riley Keough, Nicholas Braun, Colman Domingo Rated R for Strong Sexual Content and Language Throughout, Graphic Nudity, and Violence including a Sexual Assault Truth, as they say, is stranger than fiction.  "Zola" started out as a series of 148 tweets from a Detroit waitress named A'Ziah King, or Zola for short.  Her wild weekend quickly went viral, catching the attention of celebrities such as Missy Elliott and Ava DuVernay and leading to an article in Rolling Stone. Now it's been turned into a movie. Frankly, I'm not sure what is so compelling about it.  If there was anything catchy or propulsive about it, director Janicza Bravo doesn't find a way to convey it.  This is a creepy and unpleasant story about people I didn't like at all and wanted to get away from.  Watching it isn't being taken on a wile ride.  It's like being trapped in a room with people you don't know who are fighting and doing increasingly danger

 2.5/4 Starring: Biljana Cekic, Anja Stanic, Sandra Ljubojevic, Nikolina Friganovic, Jelena Grusicic, Zlatan Vidovic Rated R for Strong and Disturbing Violent Content, and Some Sexual Content I'll give "Dara of Jasenovac" credit for a few things: shining a light on an often overlooked part of history, not shrinking from the horrors that occurred nor backing down from controversy.  Unfortunately the film isn't wholly successful.  It contains strong performances from its cast and more than a few scenes of real power, but a lack of dialogue, thin characters and some poorly motivated actions hold it back from true excellence. "Dara of Jasenovac" tells the story of the genocide of the Serbs by the Croats.  While it did occur during WWII and shared many elements with the Holocaust, the crimes committed by the Ustacse government (which was a puppet state of the Nazi Party), it is very much its something else, even if the genocides interconnected.  Our entry-point i

 3.5/4 Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze, Rachel Brosnahan, Angus Wright, Jessie Buckley, Zeljko Ivanek Rated PG-13 for Violence, Partial Nudity, Brief Strong Language, and Smoking Throughout These days, spy thrillers have become synonymous with James Bond and Jason Bourne: outrageous action, cool gadgets and the fight against world domination or something.  And as much as I love James Bond (I can't say the same about Jason Bourne, though), the real spy stuff is much more interesting.  "The Courier," which is based on a true story, is a true blue spy story; it's a high stakes labyrinth of secrets and deception. Oleg Penkovsky (Ninidze), a military intelligence colonel for the Soviet Union, has just sent a message to the US Embassy offering his services as a spy.  In exchange, he wants an out for himself and his family.  Because he is such a high ranking individual, CIA agent Emily Donovan (Brosnahan) believes that the usual methods of espionage will only s

 2.5/4 Starring: Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson, N'Bushe Wright, Ron Brice Rated R for Intense, Realistic Depiction of Urban Violence, and for Drug Content, Pervasive Language and Some Sexuality "Fresh" starts out strong in its set-up but falls apart in its payoff.  It's an ambitious film, to be sure, but writer/director Boaz Yakin's vision exceeds his grasp.  This is what happens when the filmmaker's approach isn't deft enough to pull off what he is trying to achieve. Fresh (Nelson) is a young kid working as a drug courier for some local dealers.  He's smart and does what he is told, earning him the respect of the nasty people he works for.  Fresh has bigger dreams than running drugs; he's been saving up money for years to escape the projects and save his heroin-addicted sister Nichole (Wright) from the clutches of the dealers.  An act of impulsive violence spurns him into action.  Taking the lessons in chess that he learned fr

 3.5/4 Starring: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, Mike Faist, David Alvarez, Rita Moreno, Brian d'Arcy James, Corey Stoll Rated PG-13 for Some Strong Violence, Strong Language, Thematic Content, Suggestive Material and Brief Smoking Note: I missed the first minute or two of this movie.  And yes, I'll catch up to it later. Remakes provide a prospective groan from film lovers.  We've seen the story before and it reeks of "playing it safe" and being cheated money from risk-averse studios.  And yet we go to them because of the brand name and, in many cases, what else is there to see? This is, of course, not always the case.  It depends on the filmmaker's interpretation of the material.  How does the filmmaker use their talents and vision to reinvigorate the material.  Do they treat the story and the characters slavishly, as Gil Kenan did with his remake of " Poltergeist "?  Or do they use the film's core concepts and push it in a differen

 3.5/4 Starring: Jude Hill, Catriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Lewis McAskie, Judi Dench, Ciaran Hinds Rated PG-13 for Some Violence and Strong Language "Belfast" is not a perfect movie.  Far from it, in fact.  There's no plot to speak of, and the film has an alarming, and at times annoying, habit of introducing subplots and not exploring them satisfactorily.  If they are finished at all.  So by normal standards the movie is uneven and problematic.  Yet "Belfast" doesn't earn a place on my year's Top 10 list because of its story or characters or performances or whatnot.  It earns its distinction of being one of the year's best because of the cumulative power of all of these elements combined.  "Belfast" takes patience to appreciate.  You have to allow it to draw you in and accept it on its own terms. Storywise, the film is thin.  It's less a story and more a collage of experiences involving a working class family in Ireland at the start of T

 3.5/4 Starring: Maren Eggert, Dan Stevens Sandra Huller Rated R for Some Sexual Content and Language "I'm Your Man" is a sci-fi romantic comedy.  Emphasis on the latter.  Although Maria Schrader's film touches on familiar themes that are brought up in every film that deals with artificial intelligence, this is primarily the kind of movie that, had it been made in the 90s, would have starred Meg Ryan.  This isn't " Ex Machina ."  I'm fine with that; there's as much room for romantic fantasy as there is for hard science fiction.  More importantly, the central love story works . Alma (Eggert) is a historian who has thrown herself into her work after a recent break up.  Her boss has signed her up for an experiment where she will live with a robot that is tailored to meet her every romantic need.  Alma has had enough of romance and doesn't want to do this, but with funding for an international research trip dangled in front of her, she agrees.  A

 2.5/4 Starring (voices): Stephanie Beatriz, Maria Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitan Rated PG for Some Thematic Elements and Mild Peril I gotta hand it to Disney: they're willing to look to other cultures to inspire their stories.  From Greek myth (" Hercules ," which butchered the source material, but never mind), China (" Mulan ") and the African Savannah (" The Lion King ").  With "Encanto," they are drawing inspiration from Colombian culture and using magical realism that was emblematic of the nation's literary hero, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  It's been Disneyfied, of course, but still.  Unfortunately, this new film just doesn't live up to the Disney name. After Abuela Alma (Botero) fled her town and lost her beloved husband in an act of self-sacrifice, she was blessed with magic to create a new, perfect town.  She and her family are the leaders, as when they come of ag

 3/4 Starring: Aleksandra Vujcic, Julian Arahanga, Rade Serbedzija, Marton Csokas Rated NC-17 for Explicit Sexuality Not to be confused with the 2007 film starring Parker Posey There is a mix of passion and eroticism that explodes from every frame of Gregor Jordan's 1996 film.  That gives the film its edge and its unique identity.  Most films, even the sexiest or most romantic, shy away from this sensual approach.  But Jordan presses on and is clearly fascinated how these two feelings can impact how people relate to each other. Let's make one thing clear first.  "Broken English" is not pornographic.  Despite the NC-17 rating (which it arguably doesn't even deserve), there is very little sex in this movie.  There are no more sex scenes in "Broken English" than in any other normal film and while they're a bit more frank than usual, it's certainly not hardcore.  It's the intimate way the director films his actors and the little bits of behavior

 2.5/4 Starring: Matt Damon, Camille Cottin, Lilou Siauvaud, Abigail Breslin Rated R for Language "Stillwater" is many things at once: a murder mystery, a father-daughter drama, a culture clash comedy, and a journey of self-discovery.  If it isn't a perfect mix of all of these genres, well it gets damn well close. At least until the final half hour when it completely self-destructs.  Many films are near-misses because they can't stick the landing.  "Stillwater" starts out as a near-masterpiece then blows its brains out.  God knows why. Bill Baker (Damon) is an Oklahoma roughneck looking for work.  His situation is complicated because he needs to make frequent visits to Marseille, France.  That's where his daughter Allison (Breslin) is being jailed, having been convicted of murdering her roommate four years ago.  Allison is innocent, and asks her father to pass along a note to her attorney, asking her to investigate new evidence.  It's heresay, so the

 2/4 Starring: Paul Newman, Jack Warden, Charlotte Rampling, James Mason, Milo O'Shea Rated R (probably for Language) An array of top talent does not always guarantee a great movie.  Usually it does, but not always.  Take " The Irishman ," for example.  Despite the legendary combination of Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Martin Scorsese, it turned out to be a rare miss from the essential New York filmmaker.  At least I thought so.  "The Verdict" is another case of big talent not equaling big success.  Acting legends Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden and James Mason in a legal drama directed by the equally legendary Sidney Lumet and with a script from David Mamet.  It should have been great.  But the film is too slow and too unfocused to really deliver. Frank Gavin's (Newman) life has been marred by disappointment.  His promising legal career ended when he refused to be dishonest (and so did his marriage).  Now he's turned to booze and

 1.5/4 Starring: Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Angelina Jolie, Lia McHugh, Laura Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Dong-Seok Ma Rated PG-13 for Fantasy Violence and Action, Some Language and Brief Sexuality "Eternals" is your typical Marvel movie: glitzy, overlong, expensive.  And you can predict just about everything in it.  The script is drivel and the jokes are, with one exception, pebble and not especially funny.  There is a big sense of "been there, done that." What's the story?  Does it matter?  Almost every MCU movie can be summed up as a hero (or group of heroes, in this case) try to solve a crisis only to realize halfway through that everything they thought they knew was dead wrong.  "Eternals" does nothing to deviate from this formula.  Because we know what must happen, there is no suspense or tension.  And because the script is so bland, there is no one to care about.  And that means boredom. For the past

 1.5/4 Starring: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Dana Delaney, Jon Tenney, Stephen Lang, Jason Priestley, Thomas Haden Church, Joanna Pacula, Charlton Heston Rated R for Strong Western Violence "Tombstone" is a throwback to the Westerns of yesteryear, the kind that made John Wayne famous.  It has all the requisite elements: saloons, whiskey, gambling, corsets, horses.  And of course those six shooters and fantabulous mustaches.  Unfortunately, more is needed than cosmetic successes to craft a compelling Western, and director George P. Cosmatos doesn't find it.  It's amazing how scattered this movie truly is and how frequently it drips with artifice. Hero gunslinger Wyatt Earp (Russell) has had enough of his crime fighting days.  He intends to retire anonymously in the town of Tombstone and start a business with his brothers, Virgil (Elliott) and Morgan (Paxton), and friend Doc Holliday (Kilmer).  The fact that Tombston

 2/4 Starring: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Sylvia Syms, Alex Jennings, Helen McCrory Rated PG-13 for Brief Strong Language If the British monarchy is good for nothing else, it's superb. at producing the subjects of films. -Roger Ebert Indeed, the British Royals have been and will be the subject of countless fantastic films.  " Elizabeth " is one.  " The King's Speech " is another.  There's something about that mixture of power, politics and tradition that is so intriguing.  But as much as I might like to add "The Queen" to that list, I cannot.  Rather than fascinate me, "The Queen" just bored me. It's August 1997.  Tony Blair (Sheen), a populist progressive with a platform geared towards modernization, has just been elected Prime Minister.  No sooner has he met with the Queen (Mirren) than they both receive terrible news: Princess Diana has died in a car accident.  It's a crisis, to be sure, but Tony and the Q

 3/4 Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Javier Barden, Stellan Skarsgaard, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Chang Chen, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, Zendaya Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Strong Violence, Some Disturbing Images and Suggestive Material I left "Dune: Part One" with mixed feelings.  There was a nagging sense of disappointment.  Disappointment, but certainly not disinterest.  This version of "Dune," the legendary novel by Frank Herbert, just might be the most experimental movie ever to cost $165 million.  This is not mainstream fare.  Anyone expecting something like " Star Wars " or yet another superhero yarn is going to be very confused. The story of "Dune" centers around a substance called "spice."  It is produced by giant worms on a desert planet Arrakis.  It is extremely powerful, as it is used by all in the galaxy for interstellar travel.  Leto (Isaac), head of House Atride

 3.5/4 Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Anthony Michael Hall, Will Patton, Dylan Arnold,  Robert Longstreet, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Stephens, Scott MacArthur, Michael McDonald Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence Throughout, Grisly Images, Language and Some Drug Use In a word, "Halloween Kills" is awesome.  It's a cheerfully energetic and bloody escapade that not only focuses on the survivors of Michael Myers's latest killing spree, but how the town reacts.  This is a slasher movie with a social conscience and a cynical point of view.  Somehow, director David Gordon Green has found a way to use one of Hollywood's most legendary slashers to provide some acid political commentary.  It sounds bizarre, but it works. The film picks off where the (second) reboot of the franchise left off.  The survivors of Michael's night of carnage are licking their wounds, both physical and mental, before deciding what to do next.  In a small town like Haddonf

 3.5/4 Starring: Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, Chloe Sevigny, Steve Zahn, Rosario Dawson, Melanie Lynskey, Hank Azaria Rated PG-13 for Language, Sexual References and Brief Drug Use What's so diabolically clever about "Shattered Glass" is how it subverts the normal rules of fiction.  In this movie, the guy we like is the villain and the guy we hate is really the hero.  I'm not talking about the likable scoundrel versus the stick in the mud.  This is different.  Stephen Glass is a vile, contemptible creature who deserves nothing less than his career to be shredded while his nemesis Chuck Lane is so cold, so detached and so merciless that the mere sight of him generates terror and dread.  Yet we like and care about Stephen and loathe Chuck.  Because the actors playing Stephen and Chuck are so good, the film feels like its always primed to explode. Stephen Glass (Christensen) is the most beloved journalist at The New Republic, "the in-flight magazine of Air F

 It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.' As if that gives them certain rights.  It's actually nothing more...than a whine.  'I find that offensive.'  It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase.  'I am offended by that.' Well, so fucking what? Stephen Fry  Dave Chappelle is in hot water right now, with his latest Netflix special causing controversy, walkouts, protests and so on.  Many are calling for his head and demanding that Netflix cancel him. I haven't seen the controversial specials so I don't know what he specifically said (stand up loses a lot when not seen live).  That's actually beside the point.  The questions we need to ask ourselves are wider than remarks made by an often controversial comic. Let's get the obvious out of the way right now.  I support the trans community.  The struggles they face are real (witness Chump Trump's sudden and boneheaded

 3/4 Starring: Daniel Craig, Lea Seydoux, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Rafe Fiennes Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Violence and Action, Some Disturbing Images, Brief Strong Language and Some Suggestive Material James Bond has proven himself to be cinema's most enduring and adaptable franchise.  As long as the requisite mix of dry wit, sex, and of course, action, is mixed in the proper proportions, the film will be a success.  Directors and actors come and go, but 007 endures. The adventures featuring Daniel Craig are more grounded and serious than the popcorn fun of the Brosnan entries, but this is easily the darkest and bleakest Bond movie I've ever seen.  Everything in this movie has been given tremendous weight, from the dread-filled plot to Bond himself.  This is not a happy movie. James Bond (Craig) has retired from service.  He's living off the grid in Cuba, doing odd jobs for his old friend Felix Letier (Jeffrey Wright).  Felix needs his help again, this time tracking do

1.5/4 Starring: Brigitte Kali Canales, Andrea Cortes, Julia Vera, Sal Lopez Rated R (probably for Disturbing Images and Rituals, Language and Drug Use) "The Old Ways" is a curious film.  The technical qualities are good and it generates real tension and dread.  But everything else is shit.  The actors can't act, the story is badly constructed and incoherent, and the director can't decide what he wants his film to be.  So it's hard to articulate what to make of it. Christina (Canales) is a journalist traveling to Veracruz in search of a story and something more.  But she is kidnapped and held by a creepy old woman (Vera), a man of few words (Lopez) and her cousin Miranda (Cortes).  They believe that she is possessed by a demon.  Naturally, the savvy Christina doesn't believe a word of it, butyl even she can't ignore the truth. The film gets off to a bad start.  There is virtually no set up.  After a brief flashback (which has less to do with the story than

 3/4 Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Comer, Adam Driver, Ben Affleck, Harriet Walter Rated R for Strong Violence including a Sexual Assault, Sexual Content, Some Graphic Nudity, and Language "The Last Duel" is something that is all too rare these days: a thinking person's movie for adults.  So many movies are watered down for the world audience and the lowest common denominator that it is refreshing to at last find a movie that not only demands that an audience use their brains, but doesn't make concessions for tween crowd.  This is a movie for adults in every fiber of its being, and it is a credit to the filmmakers that they allowed it to be so.  Of course, this is a Ridley Scott movie, and what Ridley wants, Ridley gets. Lady Marguerite de Carrouges (Comer) has made a shocking accusation: she has accused her husband's best friend and squire, Jacques Le Gris (Driver) of raping her.  To make him pay for his actions and defend his wife's honor, Margurite's husb

 3/4 Starring: Sydney Park, Theodore Pellerin, Asjha Cooper, Dale Whibley, Jesse LaTourette, Burkley Duffield, Diego Josef Not Rated (probable R for Strong Violence/Gore, Language, Some Sexuality, and for Drug Use) "There's Someone Inside Your House" is a slasher movie for the Generation Z.  It follows the blueprint of the genre that has been laid down in cement for the past 40 years, and it adds a few new things of its own.  It isn't the smartest movie available right now, but that's to be expected.  Slasher movies are by and large not known for their intelligence.  Their appeal is visceral, and flawed as the film may be, it makes the grade. Football stud Jackson Pace (Markian Tarasiuk) has just been found brutally murdered.  Alongside his bloody corpse are pictures of a hazing incident in which he took part.  He isn't the only one; the body count continues to rise as the victims are not only killed, but their sins are laid bare for all to see.  Now, the scho

 3.5/4 Starring: Brenton Thwaites, Kyle Gallner, Theo Rossi, Skyler Astin, Alan Ritchson Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence, Disturbing and Grisly Images, Language and Brief Nude Iimages "Ghosts of War" is one wild ride. It's many things all at once.  A war movie.  A haunted house flick.  A supernatural thriller.  And other genres that I won't reveal simply to avoid spoilers.  This is a movie that came from a man with an insane vision and charged ahead to make it a reality, risks be damned.  That it could have been an utter mess is of no concern to writer/director Eric Bress.  He simply doesn't have time to worry about it. A squad of WWII soldiers is eager for their next mission.  They're assigned to hold a luxurious mansion filled with food and liquor until relief comes.  That the squad they are replacing is eager to leave and tight-lipped about why is of no concern to them.  They should have been more wary.  For it soon becomes obvious that they aren't t