Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018)

November 14, 2018 ~ Vince Leo

Illumination Entertainment brings Dr. Seuss’ beloved story to the modern age with 3D animation and the vocal talent of Benedict Cumberbatch. The Grinch hates Christmas and plans to thwart the festivities of the Christmas-loving denizens of nearby Whoville, but after donning the Santa Claus outfit to steal their presents away, has to confront the wishes of a young girl who needs Santa’s help.

Destination Wedding (2018)

October 15, 2018 ~ Vince Leo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder star as bickering travelers who just so happen to be going to the same destination: a wedding of her ex, and his half-brother, who neither of them particularly hopes is happy. Two unhappy people surrounded by mirth leads to a toxic concoction of feelings, but the two unlucky lovers find a bond in their despair that may be just as strong as that of initial attraction. “Mad About You” producer Victor Levin directs this anti-romantic comedy.

The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)

September 24, 2018 ~ Vince Leo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Set in a small town called New Zebedee, in Michigan during the mid 1950s, we follow the adventures of a ten-year-old orphan named Lewis Barnavelt, mourning the recent loss of his parents to a fatal car accident, staying in the rickety and seemingly haunted Victorian mansion of his uncle, Jonathan. Jonathan is an eccentric warlock often visited by his neighbor, a witch named Mrs. Zimmerman, and the mansion he resides in is anything but mundane. A new home also means a new school for Lewis, who is immediately labeled as a square by his peers and subsequently picked on as he tries in vain to make a friend. School isn’t the only place of learning for the boy, as Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmerman begin to teach him the ways of the warlocks, whose acts are spurred on by visions of his dead mother, while they mysteriously spend their time looking for a fabled clock hidden within the walls of the mansion. Jack Black and Cate Blanchett co-star in this PG-rated film by Eli Roth.

The Happytime Murders (2018) – A Podcast Film Review

September 3, 2018 ~ Vince Leo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this puppet/human effort directed by Brian Henson, son of Muppets creator Jim Henson, Bill Barretta voices the top puppet character known as disgraced burnout Los Angeles-based private investigator Phil Phillips, who has to get to the bottom of a series of murders among the stars of a decades-old television show with a puppet cast of actors called, “The Happytime Gang”. Melissa McCarthy gets the top human role, playing police detective Connie Edwards, Phil’s former, now estranged, partner in crime-fighting from his days on the force, who joins in to reluctantly assist. Even if the characters look like Muppets, it’s a very raunchy, ultra-violent effort not meant for children.

Crazy Rich Asians (2018) – A Podcast Film Review

August 19, 2018August 19, 2018 ~ Vince Leo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Constance Wu stars as Rachel Chu, who essentially serves as our best surrogate for the story, the daughter of a single Chinese immigrant mother, who rose above her station to become a professor of Economics at NYU. Her current boyfriend is a man names Nick Young (played by Henry Golding), who, for over a year since they’ve been dating, has never divulged to her that his family back home in Singapore is insanely wealthy. The cat has to be let out of the bag, however, when Nick asks Rachel to attend the wedding of his best friend in Singapore, where he also plans to pop a question of his own after she meets the family. However, Nick’s stern mother, Eleanor, disapproves of trying to pursue what one wants in life independent of the family wishes, so Rachel’s pursuit of her own career, and Nick pursuit of love beyond his class, ruffles more than a few feathers among his family, friends, and the rest of the rich and famous they socialize among. John M. Chu directs, with supporting roles for Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, and Ken Jeong

The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) – A Podcast Film Review

August 15, 2018 ~ Vince Leo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon star in this buddy comedy about two best friends who end up embroiled in a spy assassin plot when some terrorists come looking for them for information that Kunis’ most recent boyfriend, who she didn’t know was a secret agent, may have in his possessions. Laughs, thrills, and action are promised, but does it deliver?

Ant-Man and the Wasp – A Podcast Film Review

July 8, 2018July 8, 2018 ~ Vince Leo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Ant-Man’s second foray in his own Marvel Cinematic Universe film isn’t quite a solo adventure, as now he has a partner in Hope, who dons a high-powered suit as The Wasp. They’re out to save her mother from the Quantum Realm, where she’s been presumed missing for the last thirty years. Unfortunately, Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man, is under house arrest and not quite able to get out and join in on the quest easily. Meanwhile, a bevy of parties are out to steal the hi-tech suits before they can come into play. Peyton Reed returns to direct Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly and Michael Douglas, along with newcomers in Laurence Fishburne and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Ocean’s 8 (2018) – A Podcast Film Review

June 11, 2018 ~ Vince Leo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

11 years after we last saw the Ocean’s gang pull down a big heist, we have Danny Ocean’s sister, Debbie (Sandra Bullock), freshly out of prison and ready to hatch a new plan to get herself and her fellow female partners in crime millions by lifting a one-of-a-kind diamond necklace worth over $150 million. Steven Soderbergh steps into the producer chair in this Gary Ross-helmed attempt to recapture the magic of the prior trilogy.

Deadpool 2 (2018) – Ryan Reynolds – Film Review Podcast

May 19, 2018May 31, 2018 ~ Vince Leo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Ryan Reynolds returns as the mer with a mouth, this time trying to mature into potential fatherhod, with DEADPOOL 2, the follow-up to 2016’s surprise smash hit. This one introduces Josh Brolin as Cable and the pulling together of their mutant super-team, X-Force, as Wade Wilson seeks to stop the wrath of a vengeful, troubled teen about to go on a killing spree.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) Film Review

January 20, 2018June 14, 2018 ~ Vince Leo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Frances McDormand shines in this potent dark comedy from Martin McDonagh, playing a grieving mother who goads the local police force to action when they haven’t found any leads to her daughter’s grisly death. Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell support.