Author: Laurie Coker

By Laurie Coker Rating: B- In 1999, director Malcolm D. Lee gave us The Best Man, and this year, his all star cast returns in its sequel Best Man Holiday, catching  fans up on the lives of the same friends fifteen years later. Clear cast chemistry kept me connected to a film that sometimes flounders… Continue reading Review: BEST MAN HOLIDAY

By Laurie Coker Rating: A+ Matthew McConaughey had one heck of a year last year, but this year will most likely prove his best year yet! With MUD and now Dallas Buyers Club, a role for which he reportedly lost nearly forty pounds, he surely will get, at the very least, an Oscar nod for… Continue reading Review: DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

By Laurie Coker Rating: B Decent entertainment – my two word take on Thor: The Dark World. As with most Marvel adventures, the plot of Thor 2 matters far less than do the visual effects and its characters, and in that vein, the film shines. Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as the title character and… Continue reading Review: THOR: THE DARK WORLD

By Laurie Coker Rating: C+/B- Fortunately or unfortunately, I watched Robert Redford’s new film All is Lost, about a lone sailor lost at sea, with two accomplished sailing women – my older sister and her friend. Because of their expertise and my own experiences aboard my sister’s boats, I looked on Redford’s character’s adventure with… Continue reading Review: ALL IS LOST

By Laurie Coker Rating: C- Just in time for the holiday season, Free Birds, starring the voice talent of Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler and a host of others, comes to theatres. Just in case, we don’t get our fill on Thanksgiving, co-writer, director Jimmy Hayward brings us more. The kids will LOVE it,… Continue reading Review: FREE BIRDS

By Laurie Coker Rating: B- Now part of many high school freshman English class curriculums, Orson Scott Card’s short story turned novel Ender’s Game finally comes to the big screen in a big (IMAX) way. Director Gavin Hood, who adapted Card’s novel for screen,  manages to stay true enough to the story and some of its… Continue reading Review: ENDER’S GAME

By Laurie Coker Rating: D+ I’ve grown tired of pointless plots and tired tales. Casting excellent actors in a film doesn’t matter when the stuff of the story flows with flaws, holes and inconsistencies. Ridley Scott’s latest showing, The Counselor, falls into this well-cast, aimless narrative category perfects. Having liked all but the ending of… Continue reading Review: THE COUNSELOR

By Laurie Coker Rating: A SXSW always offers gems in the documentary category, and I try my best to see at least a few, because I too often focus more on the narrative categories. I did, however, find a true tale Divine, on one trip to the screening library. I thoroughly enjoyed I am Divine … Continue reading Review: I AM DIVINE