Author: Laurie Coker

By Laurie Coker Rating: B- Going into Keanu Reeves’ return to screen film John Wick, I knew what to expect. The film’s trailer spells out the premise clearly, and while I am not a hardcore fan of bang, bang, revenge thrillers, I am a fan of Reeves. The film adds little to the genre in… Continue reading Review: JOHN WICK

By Laurie Coker Rating: D I never imagined that I would dislike any performance by two time Oscar winning actor Christoph Waltz, but I found little interesting or memorable about him in Terry Gilliam’s chaotic science fiction epic The Zero Theorem. Actually, I lied. Waltz and his co-stars offer splendid performances, but can’t help but… Continue reading Review: THE ZERO THEORUM

By Laurie Coker Rating: C After hearing mumblings as I left the screening, I might be one of a few who actually didn’t hate Liam Neeson’s latest film, A Walk Among the Tombstones, directed and adapted to screening by Scott Frank. This does not mean, however, that I like it either. A lumbering pace and… Continue reading Review: A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES

By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ Tom Hardy’s face, except perhaps as Bane in the last Batman, is becoming quite familiar these days and in each film, whether comedy, romance or drama, he shows his natural talent as an actor. In The Drop, a new film by director Michael Roskam (Bullhead), Hardy melds in to a… Continue reading Review; THE DROP

By Laurie Coker Rating: D Kevin Kline has been on my radar for quite a long time. From his early days in film (Sophie’s Choice) to his later years (Last Vegas), no matter how insipid the script, Kline (close to 20 years older than the character he plays) melds into each character seamlessly. In his… Continue reading Review: THE LAST OF ROBIN HOOD

By Laurie Coker Rating: D+/C- Anyone who has ever been in or near a tornado should avoid Into the Storm, because its creators offer impressively realistic storm sequences demonstrating the dramatic destruction of these unpredictable weather phenomena.  I have only seen one in my life and have viewed these storms’ devastation. While watching director Steven… Continue reading Review: INTO THE STORM

By Laurie Coker Rating B- Academy awarding winning actress Helen Mirren’s body of work scans decades and she has moved from sultry seductress and sinister schemers to stern, pinch-mouthed nitpickers and as played everything in between. She has remarkable talent for melding into a variety of unique and interesting characters and this she does in… Continue reading Review: THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY

By Laurie Coker Rating: C Like every sensible person should do, I took Ninja Turtle fans, 10-year-olds, to the screening of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. They loved it! I, on the other hand, was so distracted by the mouth-breathing Megan Fox (among other things) that I could hardly pay attention. Director Jonathan… Continue reading Review: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ Certain iconic characters will live forever and ever in our memories – big stars, amazing artists, incredible athletes and musician like James Brown. His songs appear in films, on television and on the radio still. “Get on Up”, directed by Tate Taylor, is a moving, inspirational and entertaining biopic about… Continue reading Review: GET ON UP

By Laurie Coker Rating: C+/B- Unlike his surprise hit Once, Dubliner John Carney’s latest film Begin Again’s credits roll through the names of some far more famous faces.   Keira Knightly and Mark Ruffalo lead a cast of knowns and unknowns through a tender story of relationship recovery and self-discovery. In spite of its heart-string-pulling corniness,… Continue reading Review: BEGIN AGAIN