“A Competition” – “Sing” Movie Review

2016 has been one of the greatest years for animated films. From Disney’s two releases, Zootopia and Moana, to Laika’s under-appreciated Kubo and the Two Strings, animation has rocked the movie world better than much of its live-action competition. But then there is Illumination Entertainment (Minions), who like Disney decided to release two heavy hitters this year. First was Secret Life of Pets, which took the world and box office by storm, and now Sing is looking to do the same. But with so many movies already released, can it ignite the same excitement as Illumination’s other hits?

“Built On Hope” – “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” Film Review

I’ve grown up with Star Wars in my life from the very beginning. I loved the dirty, worn and unglamorous world of Space Princesses, Farm Boys, Robots, and them all battling against the forces of evil. This repeat enjoyment has carried with me for decades, and has resulted in a love affair that has yet to die. And with last year’s The Force Awakens, I got to revisit that world in the most beautiful and magical of ways. But would the same feeling carry through in the latest Star Wars flick – a one-shot story called Rogue One? This was a concern that fell on me as the days drew closer to the film’s release. But luckily, that concern has dissolved completely.

“A Magic Place” – “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” Movie Review

Back in 1997, not many of us could predict the popularity of the Harry Potter series. We never could see the fanbase that would occur, the movies that would be made, and the theme parks that would be built. None of that was even a twinkle in most of our eyes. But now it is 2016, and author J.K. Rowling is giving us another tale from her Wizarding World, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them—and it doesn’t feature even a whisper of The Boy Who Lived.

“Burn, Baby, Burn” – “Inferno” Movie Review

As someone that grew up around two big Dan Brown fans (my mother and grandmother), the crazy puzzle-filled world of Robert Langdon is one that I am no stranger to. However, when it comes to his adventures on the big screen, where he is portrayed by Tom Hanks and is guided by the directorial skills of Ron Howard, I find myself at a bit of a crossroads. Yes, these stories are entertaining on the page, but within the movie adaptations there seems to be an issue – a disconnect of sorts that comes from the production as a whole and can be blamed on many parties.

Unfortunately, the newest entry into the series – titled Inferno – doesn’t fix any of those issues, and seems to lead further into the reasons why maybe Mr. Brown’s work should be left to enjoy on the bookshelves, instead of the silver screen.

“Hard Days Night” – “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years” Movie Review

You know the words: “I want to hold your hand, i want to hold your hand!” That is exactly what this documentary on The Beatles’s touring years does as it guides you through a timeline of their best albums, their international concerts and other concurrent historical events that capture the zeitgeist of the era. Not much new can be said about The Beatles: they stand out in both the annals of music history and the hearts of millions of fans, and their iconography still influences popular culture. The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years, however,  is not encumbered by the excess of information, but provides beautiful remastered footage and photographs of the fab four building their musical repertoire, one screaming fangirl at a time.

“Always Deliver” – “Storks” Movie Review

September is known to be the dumping ground of the movie-going year. Though January’s selections are usually much worse, September has been known to offer some truly god-awful selections, especially when it comes to animated flicks for kids. So when going into see Warner Bros. Animation’s latest CGi adventure, Storks (directed/co-written by Nicholas Stoller), I was biting my nails waiting for it to leave me in a rage. Surprisingly what I got was something – shockingly – enjoyable.

“The Disappointments Room” Movie Review

After the tragic death of their infant daughter, Dana (Kate Beckinsale) and David (Mel Raido) along with their young son, Lucas (Duncan Joiner) move from the city to a rustic mansion within a rural southern town. David hopes it will help Dana recover from the loss of their daughter by putting her architectural skills to use on the dilapidated estate. However, after the first night in the mansion, Dana starts to have flashbacks of the day her daughter died and visions of the mansion’s previous owners propelling Dana to the brink of insanity.

The Disappointments Room is Wentworth Miller’s second foray into screenwriting, and D.J. Caruso is no stranger to thrillers with films like Disturbia. However, this joint artistic endeavour into horror – which tries to capture the essence of films like the Babadook, The Shining, Poltergeist, and The Amityville Horror – sadly could not live up to its own expectations. Perhaps it isn’t fair to compare it to classics, but the film does not shy away from making allusions to them, and in the end it doesn’t offer up anything new or memorable.

Important: This review features some spoilers to the plot.

“Don’t Blink” – “Kubo and the Two Strings” Movie Review

There is a current complaint in the world that Hollywood has lost its creativity. With IP’s, Princesses, and Superheroes alike ruling the box office, the original film – not based on anything aside from culture and storytelling itself – has been lost to the masses. But with the latest stop-motion animated adventure from LAIKA, titled Kubo and the Two Strings, that thirst for pure imagination has been quenched.

“Quite Vexing” – “Suicide Squad” Movie Review

Earlier this year, the world was treated to an interesting entry in the DC movie universe. Yes, Batman v. Superman left many of us movie lovers in a bit of a divide, and I sadly was one that still has a reserved seat on that hater train (at least when it comes to the theatrical cut of film) and it is a spot that is hard to move from. But with the release of Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. has yet again left the nerd community in a weird spot – are we supposed to enjoy this movie or hate it like Rotten Tomatoes would like us to? Well, internet, that decision is of course, up to you. But, as someone that likes to think for herself when it comes to films (obviously) I decided to go into this new DCU flick with a pair of fresh eyes. The results? Well that takes a bit of explaining.

Boldly Going Beyond: “Star Trek Beyond” Review

Star Trek Beyond premiered on July 22nd. It’s the third movie in the “Kelvin Timeline,” as Paramount is now calling the films produced by J.J. Abrams. I saw it in 2D on a Thursday night, then again in 3D on Saturday. I haven’t seen a movie more than once in theaters in a long time, perhaps not since Star Trek Into Darkness. When it was revealed that Simon Pegg was co-writing  and Justin Lin was directing, I breathed a sigh of relief. Star Trek Into Darkness was a movie that appeared to be a good film initially, but that the fandom later trashed. With a change in writing and direction, I was ready to enjoy Star Trek Beyond and I was not disappointed.

Captain Kirk (Chris Pine)