Author: Laurie Coker

By Laurie Coker Rating: A Here we go again – Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, has the same sing-a-long, toe-tapping feel as its predecessor. Packed with the same all-star cast and many talented, fresh stars, Mamma Mia! 2 will appeal fans. Filled will laugh out moments, even with the B-side ABBA tunes, Here We… Continue reading Review: MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN

By Laurie Coker Rating: A It seems that each year, a requisite musical comes to the big screen. Often a Hollywood will fashion a film from a Broadway hit. This year, The Greatest Showman, based on the life of P.T.Barnum, founder of the three-ring circus spectacular, makes its way to theatres – not by way… Continue reading Review: THE GREATEST SHOWMAN

By Laurie Coker Rating: C Ferdinand is a great deal of bull. Even with voice talent as varied as the bulls in the yard, the picture book turned animated feature, Ferdinand, fails to please audience members over the age of six or seven. There just isn’t much meat on the bones of the story. The… Continue reading Review: FERDINAND

By Laurie Coker Rating: A- Keeping pace with a giant is no easy task and saying that the Star Wars franchise is a giant underestimates it. Watching the most recent in the series – Star Wars: The Last Jedi – not only demonstrates how far movie-making has come, it further seats George Lucas as the… Continue reading Review: STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

By Laurie Coker Rating: A There is the intensely visceral aspect to Taylor Sheridan’s new film Wind River. His presentation of the gorgeous, frigid landscapes penetrates to the core and his characters are rich and engrossing. Sheridan, who also penned the script, captures his audience, draws it directly and unforgivingly into the frozen, harsh Wyoming… Continue reading Review: WIND RIVER

By Laurie Coker Rating: C Two hours and seventeen minutes – a lifetime in a theater seat – even watching exceptional CGI and astonishingly vivid imagery. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is an energetic, extravagant, and overall a decent experience particularly for ‘tweens and teens. Unfortunately, however, too many parts of the… Continue reading Review: VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS

By Laurie Coker Rating: A Together director Christopher Nolan and longtime collaborator composer Han Zimmer have created the perfect blend of visual intensity and musical majesty in movie making. Dunkirk, set during World War II when allied troupes were desperately in need of evacuation as Nazi forces pushed them closer and closer to the sea,… Continue reading Review: DUNKIRK

By Laurie Coker Rating: B- Typically a PG-13 rating on a horror thriller is a tell – too mild for true horror fans, but acceptable to tweens and above. Wish Upon hardly offers an original story, but it does harbor a few shocks and surprises making it worth a look. A strong lead in Joey… Continue reading Review: WISH UPON

By Laurie Coker Rating: D+ It makes no sense that in Hollywood, the music industry, and even in general, suicide is seen as heroic. There is nothing honorable about taking one’s life. Perhaps this is a soapbox for another day. In Beatriz at Dinner, Salma Hayek, plays the titular character, an immigrant from a poor… Continue reading Review: BEATRIZ AT DINNER

By Laurie Coker Rating: C+/B- Certainly, there are methods for stretching the truth and still creating a story that is at its core believable and engaging. The Book of Henry engages, but more because of its cast than its tale. Director Colin Trevorrow and writer Gregg Hurwitz play on every emotion possible but go far… Continue reading Review: THE BOOK OF HENRY