Author: Laurie Coker

By Laurie Coker   Rating: F   I’ve grown too old, I think, especially as a parent and as a teacher. As I sat through To Do List, I cringed at almost every scene. When I watched Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza), the class valedictorian graduating from high school, spend her last summer before college checking disgusting… Continue reading Review: To Do List

By Laurie Coke Rating: B+ There is one phone call parents never want to receive. Fruitvale Station brings to life one mother’s nightmare, a daughter’s loss and the story of a life cut short. After celebrating New Year’s Eve with friends in 2009, Oscar Grant III died when a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) police… Continue reading Review: FRUITVALE STATION

By Laurie Coker Rating: A- Everyone who knows me knows I am NOT a fan of horror films. Very few actually scare me and most just gross me out. Still, a friend of mine, who loves to hate horror, really wanted to see The Conjuring, starring Patrick Wilson, Vera Farminga, Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor,… Continue reading Review: THE CONJURING

By Laurie Coker Rating: C- My guest nailed it when he said that RIPD is like Ghostbusters, but it feels and looks a good deal like Men in Black too. Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Louise Parker and Kevin Bacon star in RIPD, a rip-roaring, wild, CGI adventure ride taking place somewhere between Heaven and… Continue reading Review: RIPD

By Laurie Coker Rating: B Dream works Animation might actually catch up with the quality of Pixar. Their newest offering pleases young and old, with a tiny hero and his big dream. In this highly engaging tale, we find ourselves cheering for the little guy in a big way. My guests for this fun film… Continue reading Review: TURBO

By Laurie Coker Rating: A I’ve said in again and again. A perfectly preformed character-driven film trumps most other films. Rich, well-imagined characters are what make What Maisie Knew a beautiful film. While I am familiar with author Henry James, I knew nothing about the movie before seeing it, except that I had seen a… Continue reading Review: What Maisie Knew

By Laurie Coker Rating: C+/B- “Hi-Yo, Silver away!” Leaping on to screens for a long 149 minutes of run time, The Lone Ranger, starring Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp, annoys as much as it unabashedly entertains.  For year, in my youth (in reruns and in black and white), The Lone Ranger and Tonto fought crime… Continue reading Review: THE LONE RANGER

By Laurie Coker Rating: B There are simply still not enough kid and adult friendly films out there for my taste. As a grandmother, I am constantly working to find creative and engaging ways to entertain my favorite little people. As my youngest grandchild nears the two and a half year mark, she’s actually getting… Continue reading Review: DESPICABLE ME 2

By Laurie Coker Rating: C- After the horribly disappointing Olympus Falling, the idea of seeing White House Down, starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx and a host of others, didn’t appeal to me. Along with two super-power headliners, director Roland Emmerich, as he is known to do, overloads his film with explosions, bullets, bad guys and… Continue reading Review: WHITE HOUSE DOWN