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
Author: Laurie Coker
Review: DUNKIRK
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
Review: WISH UPON
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
Review: BEATRIZ AT DINNER
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
Review: THE BOOK OF HENRY
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
Review: ALIEN: COVENANT (SXSW 2017)
By Laurie Coker Rating: D I often wonder about the “critics” opinions versus my opinion. I am after all a professional film critic myself, but when I look at critic ratings of films and I find that often I sit on the polar opposite side of popular opinion. I can’t help but think – “whaaaaaaaaaaat?”… Continue reading Review: ALIEN: COVENANT (SXSW 2017)
Review: SNATCHED
By Laurie Coker rating: B- Amy Schumer can be worrisome. Her devil may care attitude and trash talking potty mouth works for some, but is offing putting for others. Her new film, co-starring the delightful Goldie Hawn, Snatched allows her to be funny without too much over-the-top nastiness. Her pairing with Hawn is what makes… Continue reading Review: SNATCHED
Review: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2
By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ Guardians of the Galaxy 2 will constantly be compared to its predecessor, but even if it stood alone, it entertains wittily and with visually stunning zeal. Writer-director James Gunn knows how to draw the finest out of his characters and make the best of his special effects. Staying for three… Continue reading Review: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2
Review: THE DINNER
By Laurie Coker Rating: D Writer-director Oren Moverman’s The Dinner starring Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, Rebecca Hall and Richard Gere starts nowhere and ends in precisely the same place. Touted as a drama, mystery, suspense film, it is none of the above. Instead, it is a dark, muddled mess of nonsense and dysfunction. Based on… Continue reading Review: THE DINNER
SXSW 2017 Review: FITS AND STARTS
By Laurie Coker Rating: B Having enjoyed Sally Fields’ quirky little comedy, Hello My Name is Doris, seeing another film by writer/director Laura Terruso seemed a good option at SXSW this year. Indie films make for some of the best and yes, sometimes, the worst of the festival. Fits and Starts follows a struggling novelist… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: FITS AND STARTS