Author: Laurie Coker

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