In the mid-2010s, Michael Bay broke from his long-standing practice of making chaotic and juvenile escapism to helm two chaotic and juvenile exhumations of the American Experiment. One of these was 2016's 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, headlined by a roided-up John Krasinski. The other was the subject of this review, 2013's Pain…Read more Film Review: Pain & Gain (2013)
2010s Reviews
Film Review: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)
When my lovely partner recently suggested we watch the 2016 comedy Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, I must admit I felt similar to how I did when we plopped our hennies down to Instant Family, my review of which you can read here. Of course, I was immediately attracted to the idea due to…Read more Film Review: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)
Film Review: Instant Family (2018)
Despite featuring the absolutely magnificent Rose Byrne in a leading role, I must admit I approached Instant Family with some trepidation. Perhaps it was her pairing with that stupid, thuggish oaf Mark Wahlberg as her co-star. Perhaps it was the idea of a white, affluent couple fostering a brood of disadvantaged Hispanic children. Perhaps it…Read more Film Review: Instant Family (2018)
Film Review: A Little Bit of Heaven (2011)
An off the wall, truly bonkers piece of cinema, A Little Bit of Heaven has to be seen to be believed. The film tells the story of Marley (Kate Hudson), a “free spirited” woman whose life of casual hookups and batshit insane advertising pitches is derailed by a sudden ass cancer diagnosis. While pursuing treatment,…Read more Film Review: A Little Bit of Heaven (2011)
Film Review: The Courier (2019)
When one thinks of a bad car crash, they typically imagine it as being a loud, ugly and often bloody affair. Additionally, they think that such an incident would never involve them, that it is something that always happens to “other people.” On both these levels, The Courier – which is being released on BluRay,…Read more Film Review: The Courier (2019)
Film Review: The Irishman (2019)
"Would you like to be a part of this history?" When Jimmy Hoffa poses this question in Martin Scorsese's 24th feature film - the gangland saga The Irishman - the movie is already approximately a third of the way through its epic, three-and-a-half hour runtime. Yet despite its length, tonal restraint and veritable cadre of…Read more Film Review: The Irishman (2019)
Film Review: Hail Satan? (2019)
I recently had the opportunity to review an interesting doc entitled Hail Satan?. While the movie certainly grapples with important and timely themes, it is unfortunately a cursory look at the sick, hypocritical way that the Christian right has become embedded in American political life. Enjoy it all on FilmMonthly! Full Review
A Collection of Recent Reviews
Anyone who knows me well knows that I have largely retired from the film reviewing game. While it once served as my central writing focus, and, in fact, probably turned me into the writer I am today, I no longer find it to be my primary interest. Instead, I now plunk away mostly in the…Read more A Collection of Recent Reviews
Film Review: I, Daniel Blake (2016)
About six or seven years ago, I developed a minor obsession with the work of Ken Loach, the iconoclastic English director of acclaimed films like Kes, Looks and Smiles, Raining Stones, My Name is Joe, Sweet Sixteen and The Wind that Shakes the Barley. Back then, I watched a number of these in quick succession.…Read more Film Review: I, Daniel Blake (2016)
Film Review: Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)
John Requa and Glenn Ficarra's Crazy, Stupid, Love arrived at a highly specific point in time. The 2011 film premiered right as its star, Steve Carell, began to transition to more dramatic film roles. Additionally, his co-star, Ryan Gosling, was reaching his first career apex. Gosling starred in three films in 2011 (The Ides of…Read more Film Review: Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)
Adam Mohrbacher 