Mike's Movie Tips

 3.5.4 Starring: Martin Sheen, Albert Hall, Laurence Fishburne, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Marlon Brando Rated R (probable for Disturbing War Violence, Language, Drugs and Sexual Content) Although the setting of "Apocalypse Now" is the Vietnam war, this isn't a war picture.  It's a horror film. Few films I've seen are as genuinely eerie and disturbing as "Apocalypse Now," the 1979 film from Francis Ford Coppola.  With every passing moment, the sense of terror and madness grows.  Coppola has done something completely original and daring: he has created a vision of hell on Earth.  Not many people would have the nerve or the skill to pull this off.  But Coppola did. The set up is simple.  Captain Benjamin Willard (Sheen) is an army assassin who, on his 3rd tour of duty in Vietnam, has been given a new assignment.  A highly respected special forces officer, Col. Walter Kurtz (Brando) has gone insane.  He has gone rogue from the US Army and cr...

 2.5/4 Starring: Noomi Rapace, Jakob Oftebro, Dar Salim, Erik Enge, Ardalan Ismaili, Aliette Opheim, Stella Marciman Klintberg Not Rated (probable R for Strong Violence Throughout) "Black Crab" feels like it's trying to be two movies at once.  One is a straightforward adventure thriller while the other is a deeper, more thoughtful film.  It's not impossible to be both (" Blood Diamond " is an excellent example), but director Adam Berg doesn't get the mix right.  It's too long for the former and too thin for the latter.  Berg apparently believes that the screenplay has more depth than it does. Six people are sent on a desperate mission.  They're on the losing side of a war, and their suicidal undertaking is a Hail Mary pass.  They are to go behind enemy lines to deliver two canisters to an allied base.  For the first time in 37 years, a nearby strait has frozen over.  The ice is too thin for trucks, but human beings can walk fine.  At lea...

 3.5/4 Starring: Lillo Brancato, Robert DeNiro, Chazz Palmenteri, Francis Capra, Taral Hicks Rated R for Strong Language and Several Scenes of Violence Our personalities and world views are shaped not just by our experiences, but by the people in our lives.  Parents, teachers, and everyone else tries to instill their values on the children in their care.  The kids absorb these lessons and decide what works for them.  That is what growing up is all about. For Calogero, his two influences are his father Lorenzo (DeNiro) and Sonny (Palmentiri), the local mob boss.  Calogero saw Sonny murder a man over a parking dispute and was impressed (and grateful) that the young boy (Capra) didn't rat him out to the cops.  He takes the kid under his wing, which Lorenzo vehemently disapproves.  As an adult (Brancato), Calogero (who goes by "C" after being given the nickname by Sonny) tries to use their lessons to help him navigate some difficult waters like romance wit...

 2/4 Starring: Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Ewan McGregor, Margo Martindale, Chris Cooper, Juliette Lewis, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Abigail Breslin, Misty Upham, Sam Shepard Rated R for Language including Sexual References, and for Drug Material There is a certain kind of film critic, the kind that many people imagine when they think of film critics, who will fawn over a movie like "August: Osage County."  It has everything they purport to love: lots of wordy dialogue, acting showcases, and little conventional action.  I suppose actors like it too, since it gives them a chance to actually act as oppose to dance around on a green screen wearing spandex.  I fall into neither of these categories, so I think I'm safe in saying that while I appreciated some of what the film has to offer, I recommend giving this movie a pass unless you like this sort of thing. The Weston family has gathered in small town Oklahoma for the funeral of the patriarch, an alcoholic w...

 3/4 Starring: Zawe Ashton Not Rated (probable PG for Brief Language and Sexual Material) If you died, right here and now, would anyone remember you? We'd all like to think so.  We rest easy knowing that we can count on our family and friends to care about us, make sure we're doing alright, and be there when we need them.  The men and women who were friends, lovers and acquaintances of Joyce Carol Vincent believed they were all of those things to her.  So how is it that this woman, who was so bubbly and glamorous that she drew people to her without effort, ended up dying in a bedsit alone with no one noticing for two years? I've been haunted by Joyce's story ever since I heard about it.  It's so bizarre that it is nearly beyond belief. Yet when I think about her, the emotion that I feel is a deep sadness.  How tragic it must be to not only die alone, but to be so invisible that no one notices until you're served with an eviction notice. When she died, she w...

 3/4 Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Louis Partridge, Sam Clafin, Helena Bonham Carter Rated PG-13 for Some Violence I get the strong sense that the story of "Enola Holmes" would be something that Hayao Miyazaki would love to turn into a film.  It has all his trademarks: a plucky heroine finding her own strength, a boy she rescues, and adults who continuously underestimate her.  Alas, Miyazaki isn't in the director's chair.  Harry Bradbeer does a serviceable job directing the film, but it is nonetheless a bit disappointing. Enola Holmes (Brown) is a clever and independent young woman.  As well she should be, being the younger sister of the famed investigator Sherlock Holmes (Cavill).  Her father died when she was young and her brothers Sherlock and Mycroft (Clafin) left soon after.  So she was raised by her mother Eudoria to be a learned and self-reliant young woman.  She knows everything from classic literature to jiu-jitsu.  Her fairytale lif...

 1.5/4 Starring: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Tyrese Gibson, Al Mandrigal Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violence, Some Frightening Images, and Brief Strong Language Advanced word on "Morbius" is so bad that one might assume it's the second coming of "Gigli."  I went in expecting a train wreck, not least because MCU movies make bank and are beloved by fans regardless of whether or not they are any good.  The verdict?  Well, it doesn't work and I don't recommend it, but it is far from the worst movie ever made.  It won't come near the bottom of my worst of 2022 list.  In fact, it isn't even close to the worst film made by this director (" Child 44 ," the dud with Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace, is far more painful to sit through). "Morbius" tries to be different than the usual MCU fare, but it misses the mark.  Ultimately, the need to mesh with other films in the MCU is its biggest handicap.  Director D...