Mike's Movie Tips

 2.5/4 Starring: Jason Clarke, Helen Mirren, Sarah Snook, Finn Scicluna-O'Prey Rated PG-13 for Violence, Disturbing Images, Drug Content, Some Sexual Material and Thematic Elements Sarah Winchester was an heiress to and majority owner of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.  She was infamous for having constant construction on her house, the Winchester mansion, for the remainder of her life.  Allegedly, this was due to her belief that it was inhabited by the ghosts of those killed by Winchester rifles. This is a great start to a movie, veracity be damned.  After all, " Brotherhood of the Wolf " used a real incident and people as a jumping off point for a swashbuckler monster movie.  Alas, "Winchester" isn't anywhere near in the same league.  The screenplay isn't as ambitious, nor is it as well written.  The film has its share of spooky moments that will get the hairs on the back of your neck to stand up, but those who are looking for a coherent narra...

 1.5/4 Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake, S. Epatha Merkerson Rated R for Strong Sexual Content, Language, Some Violence and Drug Use Film critics bemoan "formulaic" movies.  That's primarily because we see a lot more films than the average filmgoer.  I personally wear out a Blu Ray player once a year, although I don't know if that says more about me or Sony.  When something new and original like " Fargo " or " Speed " comes along, critics tend to fall over themselves in praising it.  Unfortunately the reality is that when it comes to the few films that take chances, there are more duds than successes.  For every movie made without a safety net that hits it out of the park, there are a dozen movies that fall on their faces.  Such is the case with "Black Snake Moan." Rae (Ricci) is the town floozy.  When she's inebriated or when her precarious life threatens to get out of control, she gets "the itch,...

 3.5/4 Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Taika Waititi Rated PG-13 for Strong Fantasy Violence Throughout, Language and Crude/Suggestive References I used to be an adventurer like you.  Then I took an arrow in the knee. If you recognize that quote from "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim," this is a movie for you.  Although the humor is broad enough to be appreciated by non-gamers, I think those who spend enough time on the Xbox will get more out of the movie.  This is an homage/parody of gaming and gaming culture.  It's not quite as vicious as " Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ," but its still funny.  And at times, very funny. For Guy (Reynolds), every day is the same.  He gets up, gets his coffee, and goes to work.  The fact that the place is robbed multiple times a day is just one of those things.  What Guy doesn't know is that he is an NPC in an online game called "Free City" (translation for non-...

 1/4 Starring: Vadhir Derbez, Guy Pearce, Stephen Lang, Brady Jenness, Keith David Rated R for Violent Content, Disturbing Images and Language Good horror movies keep you on the edge of your seat.  They generate a sense of terror and dread.  You fear what comes next while cursing yourself for watching it.  Bad horror movies are a waste of time.  Rather than camouflage the holes and inconsistencies necessary to make a scary movie work, they exacerbate them.  With a movie like "The Seventh Day," it's impossible to ignore how dumb it is.  Not to mention boring. "The Seventh Son" is your basic buddy cop story, only instead of the boys in blue we have priests.  That Father Peter (Pearce), the veteran of the duo, is bitter and sardonic and acts like he wandered in from " Training Day " should give you an idea of how shaky the film starts out.  And it gets worse from there.  He's paired with the new recruit, Father Daniel (Derbez), out to prove...

 2/4 Starring: John David Washington, Vicky Krieps, Boyd Holbrook, Alicia Vikander Not Rated (probable R for Violence and Some Language) "Beckett" is the kind of movie that Alfred Hitchcock could have had a tremendous amount of fun with.  After all, it centers around the wrongfully accused man and uses action to camouflage the seams in the plot.  Unfortunately, despite a strong start, the film loses the thread and becomes the very movie it so desperately tried to avoid becoming. Beckett (Washington) is on a vacation in Greece with his long time girlfriend April (Vikander).  Instead of starting in their hotel as originally planned, they are taking a tour of the country.  On their way, Beckett falls asleep at the wheel and crashes the car, killing April.  Just when things couldn't possibly get any worse, he finds himself on the wrong end of a gun and is chased all over Greece by some crooked cops. Co-writer/director Fernando Cito Filomarino takes great care t...

 1/4 Starring: Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Hiroyuki Sanada, Matilda Kimber, Laura Brent, Chin Han Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence and Language Throughout, and Some Crude References I should really listen to my friends more. I once asked my friend Chris if he wanted to see "Mortal Kombat" in IMAX with me.  He declined, and suggested that I watch it on HBO Max instead.  I told him that I didn't have that subscription service, and if memory serves, he told me the movie wasn't worth paying 20 bucks for at the theater.  He's not as big of a movie fan as I am, but he's a smart guy so I took him at his word.  Yet it wasn't until now that I finally caught up with the new reboot film of the classic fighting game franchise.  And you know what?  He was right. As a straightforward special effects driven gorefest, this new "Mortal Kombat" doesn't make the grade.  It is far too dumb, badly acted an...

 2/4 Starring: Idris Elba, John Cena, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Daniela Melchior, David Dastmalchian, Peter Capaldi, and the voice of Sylvester Stallone Rated R for Strong Violence and Gore, Language Throughout, Some Sexual References, Drug Use and Brief Graphic Nudity The superhero genre is officially dead. There.  I said it. Actually, I've been saying it for ten years, but of course no one listens to anyone or anything but the almighty cash register, and superhero movies still bring in big bucks.  I'd blame fandom, but I honestly believe that it's because action junkies like me have no other choice.  I mean, for spectacle, what else is there?  "Star Wars," I guess, but I digress. We have seen the supers attack every genre.  They've been in summer action movie mode (the MCU), Oscar bait ( Nolan's Batman trilogy ), psychological melodrama (" Joker "), you name it.  It hasn't just gotten really old and derivative, the genre ha...