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 wh...

 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 ...

 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-writte...

 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,...

 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....

 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...

 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. ...