Mike's Movie Tips

 3/4 Starring: Emily Mortimer, Woody Harrelson, Ben Kingsley, Eduardo Noriega, Kate Mara, Thomas Kretschmann Rated R for Some Violence, including Torture and Language "Transsiberian" is a thriller about a train trip from hell.  By grounding his film so well, director Brad Anderson has given it a new level of urgency and dread.  These people feel real, and that's what makes it so scary. Roy (Harrelson) and Jessie (Mortimer) are a married couple on their first international trip.  They're from Iowa and when their church was organizing a mission to China, they jumped at the chance.  But it's time to return home, and they've decided to skip the flight and take the Trans-Siberian Railway (Roy is obsessed with trains).  Things go well at first, and they hit it off with their cabin companions Carlos (Noriega) and Abby (Mara).  It doesn't last long, however. I'm not about to give away the plot, which is best discovered for yourself.  But let me explain why it

 2/4 Starring (voices): Jake Gyllenhaal, Jaboukie Young-White, Gabrielle Union, Dennis Quad, Lucy Liu, Karan Soni, Alan Tudyk Rated PG for Action/Peril and Some Thematic Elements "Strange World" is so aggressively bland that I can guarantee that I won't remember anything having seen it by the end of the year.  It won't sniff my Bottom 10 list, but even that's a criticism.  It's too bland to be that bad.  It's harmless and energetic, but it leaves no lasting impression. The Clades are known for their adventuring spirit.  Well, at least Jaeger (Quaid) is.  His son Searcher (Gyllenhaal) would rather raise plants.  Good thing too, because on the way to find out what lies beyond the mountains, Searcher discovers a plant whose power revolutionizes their society overnight.  But Jaeger's obsession is so overpowering that he goes on alone, never to be seen again. Cut to years later.  Searcher is living the life of a simple farmer and father.  He dances with his

 2/4 Starring (voices): Lyric Ross, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Angela Bassett, James Hong, Sam Zelaya, Ving Rhames, Igal Naor, David Harewood, Maxine Peake, Tantoo Cardinal Rated PG-13 for Some Thematic Material, Violence, Substance Use and Brief Strong Language Few types of movies are more painful to sit through than ones that take no risks and are as bland as tofu.  " Thor: Love and Thunder " is a terrific example.  That movie had no plot, no characters, or anything worth caring about.  It played things so safe that there was nothing to capture any sort of interest.  As a result, it's easily the worst movie in the MCU and a shoo-in for a spot on my Bottom 10 list. There's a flip side to that.  A movie that has too much plot and too many characters battling for our interest won't work either.  Such is the case with "Wendell & Wild," the new film from stop-motion animation guru Henry Selick.  That the film is based on a novel (co-written by Se

 3.5/4 Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan Rated R for Language Throughout, Some Violent Content and Brief Graphic Nudity People like change only when it's on their terms.  When a person finally gets to buy a car they've had their eye on for months, it's thrilling.  When they have to buy a car because someone else crashed into it, it's a pain in the ass.  Of course, life supplies everyone with both types of change.  For better and for worse. For Padriac Suilleabhain (Farrell), life doesn't change much.  He lives with his sister Siobhan (Condon), his animals including his beloved donkey Jenny, and his daily ritual of sharing a few pints with his friend, Colm Doherty (Gleeson).  Then one day Colm drops a bombshell: he doesn't want to speak to Padriac anymore.  Padriac is taken aback, but Colm finds him a bore and wants to concentrate on writing music.  Now what? Other than the quality of the writing and acting, writer/director Mar

 1/4 Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Nao Omori, Shin'ya Tsukamoto, Paulyn Sun, Susumu Tirajıma, Shun Sugata The version being reviewed is unrated.  For the record, the theatrical cut is rated R for Strong Perverse Violence/Gore and Sexuality, Language and Drug Content Whenever I watch a bad movie or one that is intensely disturbing, my parents ask my why I watch such films.  There are a few reasons.  One, some movies are meant to be disturbing and raw.  No one is meant to sit through " Grave of the Fireflies " or " Saving Private Ryan " without feeling intense discomfort and grief.  If such films hit you in the gut, they've done their job.  Two, is curiosity.  I have the same impulse that anyone else does when they see a good trailer or hear solid word of mouth.  Sometimes I'm simply curious about a film.  Occasionally that has led to great rewards; I watched " The Occupant " at a moment's impulse and it turned out to be the best film of 2020.  O

 2.5/4 Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Foxx, Lucas Black, Evan Jones Rated R for Pervasive Language, Some Violent Images and Strong Sexual Content I suppose it takes a certain type of person to survive in a world where being branded with your job is considered an honor, trash talking is part of normal conversation and profanity flows as freely as water.  I'm not sure that Swoff is the kind of guy who fits in to this world, but then again, neither does he.  He learns to survive, at least.  More power to him. Anthony Swofford (Gyllenhaal) ended up in the Marine Corps and is not quite sure how he got there.  "I got lost on my way to college," is his answer when interrogated by a drill instructor.  Truth is, Swoff never figures out how anything really happens to him.  He gets into sniper school, where he meets his spotter and best friend, Troy (Sarsgaard).  Before they know it, they are shipped of to Iraq to fight in Operation Desert Storm.  Welcome to the S

 4/4 Starring: Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer, Patrick Page, Sunita Mani, Joe Tippett, Marlow Barkley, Tracy Morgan Rated PG-13 for Language, Some Suggestive Material and Thematic Elements Being a film critic is rough.  You get into it because you love movies, yet most of the time the movies are dull and by the numbers (most superhero movies), retreads of things you've sat through countless times before (franchises to anything that makes a buck) and occasionally wretched (ego trips from self-important auteurs).  Yet, as tough as things can be, a movie comes along to remind you of what a movie can be when no one phones it in.  "Spirited" is one of those movies.  It's a movie that's so deliriously delightful that it wipes away all the cynicism of the world and just entertains you.  This is what happens when a group of people believe in a project and work as hard as they can to make it work. Will Ferrell plays the Ghost of Christmas Present.  Actually,

 2/4 Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, David Thewlis, Louis Partridge, Susan Wokoma, Adeel Akhtar, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Helena Bonham Carter, Serrana Su-Ling Bliss Rated PG-13 for Some Violence and Bloody Images 2020's " Enola Holmes " is a perfect movie for streaming.  It's diverting and on some level entertaining, but lacks the quality necessary for a theatrical release.  Even if it were released prior to the pandemic, there is no way it could have succeeded in theaters, even as an indie curiosity.  Despite the involvement of A-lister Henry Cavill. If only I could say the same thing about the second entry.  Like most sequels, it goes bigger.  Unfortunately, this does not lead to "better."  The story is perhaps too ambitious for the limited talents of director Henry Bradbeer.  He can't keep all the plot lines and characters (and there are a lot of each) straight.  And his lack of imagination as a filmmaker is only exacerbated as he bites of

 3/4 Starring: Alan Rickman, Bryan Greenberg, Mary Steenburgen, Shawn Hatosy, Bill Pullman, Eliza Dushku, Danny DeVito Rated R for Some Violent Gruesome Images, Language and Sexuality The challenge every thriller must overcome is to not lose sight of the characters.  If a crime plot becomes too convoluted and elaborate, the people involved can cease to be real people an instead become pawns for the screenplay.  "Nobel Son," directed by Randall Miller, very nearly crosses this line.  There are times when the film's plot strains credulity.  There are other times when I felt like I was playing catch up.  It is a testament to the cast members that they keep to personalities that feel consistent.  That's definitely an accomplishment, considering the things that they turn out to be capable of. Eli Michaelson (Rickman) has just won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  Normally, this would be time for celebration.  But for Eli's wife Sarah (Steenburgen) and son Barkley (Greenb

 3/4 Starring: Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett, Julia Stiles, Martin Sheen, Andrew Keegan, Rain Phoenix, Elden Henson, John Heard Rated R for Violence, a Scene of Strong Sexuality, Language and Drug Use When it comes to William Shakespeare, everyone has their favorite.  "Hamlet" is undoubtedly his most popular and enduring play, but others will stump for "Macbeth," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," or "Much Ado About Nothing."  Not me, though.  My favorite Shakespeare play is "Othello."  The idea of a man being manipulated into bringing his own tragic downfall by a psychopath posing as his friend sticks in my mind.  The level of malice and psychological violence is such that I can't forget it or turn away. It's strange, then, that we don't see more versions of it.  After all, the sad, violent arc of Othello hasn't become irrelevant in the years since The Bard first put the play to paper.  Maybe people are too afraid of the ra

 1/4 Starring: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, Lila Buckingham, Sam Richardson, Doug Jones Rated PG for Action, Macabre/Suggestive Humor and Some Language It's rather astonishing that anyone remembers " Hocus Pocus " after all these years.  It's really not a good movie (I gave it a very weak 3/4, mostly out of nostalgia).  But it nevertheless found a niche as a sleepover favorite for millennials.  It isn't the first movie that has an undeserved spot in American pop culture (can anyone objectively say that "Dirty Dancing" and " The Mighty Ducks " are quality movies while keeping a straight face?), and it won't be the last. Which brings us to 2022.  The follow up, after 29 years, was the brain child of Bette Midler, who recognized that the original struck a nerve in audiences and has been chomping at the bit for another outing as Winifred Sanderson.  "Hocus Pocus" appeared to be too