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By Laurie Coker Rating: C+/B- A film that purposely makes fun of itself works, if even on the most asininely inane level. The Baywatch movie, starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, does just that – with no apologies and none are needed. Director Seth Gordon, working from a script offered by a half dozen writers, uses… Continue reading Review: BAYWATCH

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

By Laurie Coker Rating: D When a film doesn’t screen for press, red flags fly. The Circle starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson did not, at least not in Austin. It is not difficult to understand why. Riding on the heels of Beauty and the Beast, Watson even coupled with Hanks is given little with… Continue reading Review: THE CIRCLE

By Laurie Coker Rating: B- It just feels good to watch Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin interact, even if the story in their new Going in Style, feels familiar, forced and a bit muddled. These charming veteran actors fill the screen with their palpable personalities, and we are the luckier for it. Director… Continue reading Review: GOING IN STYLE

By Laurie Coker Rating C+/B- I skipped all of The Boss Baby screenings offered for critics so that I could take my grandkids to the film when we all had time. I paid for three tickets on opening day and posted on Facebook that I was sure my grandkids should know how much I love… Continue reading Review: THE BOSS BABY

By Laurie Coker Rating: C- Life — a condition that includes the capacity for growth, reproduction, function and change — and the subject of the latest sci-fi thriller, Life, starring Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllenhaal. Director Daniel Espinosa creates a visually stunning environment and an interesting enough creature, but Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese’s story… Continue reading Review: LIFE

By Laurie Coker Rating: C+ Living in a perpetual loop does not sound appealing at all, but living in a loop that ends in disaster sounds horrific. That is what happens to Samantha Kingston (Zoey Deutch) in Before I Fall. Directed by Ry Russo-Young and written Maria Maggenti, Before I Fall gives us shamelessly senseless… Continue reading Review: BEFORE I FALL

By Laurie Coker Rating: A We are used to origin stories when it comes to our superheroes. Whether we look at Avengers, Batman, Superman or X-Men, there is a sense of character connection when we know from whence they came. While Logan, starring Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, might feel like a finale, director and… Continue reading Review: LOGAN