Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017) movie review

December 18, 2017June 14, 2018 ~ Vince Leo

Rian Johnson takes over the reins of the venerable franchise. Does he hit a new height, or is this progressing the wrong direction? Fans are debating, and I offer my take here.

The Shape of Water (2017) Guillermo del Toro – Movie Review

December 6, 2017June 14, 2018 ~ Vince Leo

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Guillermo del Toro returns to the dark fairy tale genre in this story about an unlikely relationship that develops between a mute janitor and a strange creature that is part man and part fish.

Coco (2017) Pixar Disney – a podcast movie review

November 26, 2017 ~ Vince Leo

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Taking a look at Pixar’s latest big film, Coco, which incorporates the Dia de los Muertos tradition into yet another heartwarming family tale.

Darkest Hour (2017) Gary Oldman – Movie Review

November 24, 2017 ~ Vince Leo

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This true story begins at the onset of World War II when, within days of becoming Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill has to face one of his most critical of trials: contemplating a peace treaty with Nazi Germany, or standing firm to fight for the principles, independence, and free will of a nation. As the seemingly insurmountable Nazi forces trample through Western Europe and invasion appears imminent, and with a nervous public, a wavering King, and his own party conspiring against him, Winston Churchill must find the self-resolve to inspire a nation, and to attempt to alter the course of world events.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017) Denis Villenueve Film Review

October 9, 2017 ~ Vince Leo

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A podcast review of Denis Villenueve’s continuation of Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction masterpiece.

Detroit (2017) Kathryn Bigelow film review

September 29, 2017 ~ Vince Leo

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The riots and looting in Detroit, 1967, were sparked by the mostly white police force coming into a predominantly black neighborhood in order to infiltrate a nightclub operating without a license, which ended up with yet another incident of police aggression and harassment in the area that has seemingly gone on unchecked. Specifically, the film concentrates on the Algiers Motel incident, which which a group of black men, and two white women, end up having a terrifying night while being interrogated by several white police officers and members of the military. The methods of interrogation includes beatings, and the horrifying deaths of those who refused to comply to the request of the authorities to produce a gun that they believed had been used to shoot at them.

It (2017) Stephen King – Movie Review

September 10, 2017 ~ Vince Leo

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The action in It takes place in the fictional small town of Derry, Maine, where we mostly follow a group of about seven adolescents on their break during the summer. The de-facto leader of the group, Bill Denbrough, has recently been plagued by thoughts of his younger brother Georgie’s disappearance, though we in the audience know that the tyke is but the latest victim of a sewer-dwelling, fear-feeding demon who mostly presents himself in the form of a clown named Pennywise. Georgie’s not the only child to go missing of late, and the group soon learns that Derry has a special history for children who disappear without a trace about once every generation, causing them to have to confront their innermost nightmarish fears, lest they become the latest victim of the sinister Pennywise.

Atomic Blonde (2017) Charlize Theron – Movie Review

August 13, 2017 ~ Vince Leo

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Set in Berlin in 1989, shortly before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, we find an MI6 agent named Lorraine Broughton on a mission to try to get a much sought after highly classified list of spies working for Western agencies around the world, kept hidden within the case of a luxury watch, in order to prevent it from going to the KGB. Operating in flashbacks as the bruised and fatigued agent divulges the details of her botched mission to her immediate superior, as well as to a bigwig in the CIA, we learn of her covert mission to acquire the list, initially assigned to work with the chief operator in Berlin, David Percival. In the meantime, they must contend with dangerous Soviet operatives, the East German military, Stasi officers, and an unknown double agent working both sides of the Wall.

The Big Sick (2017) Kumail Nanjiani – Movie Review

July 19, 2017 ~ Vince Leo

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Kumail Nanjiani stars and co-scripts this romantic comedy about himself (more or less), a Pakistani immigrant to America turned stand-up comedian living in Chicago who ends up going out and then falling into a romantic relationship with a white, non-Muslim psychology graduate student named Emily. Contrary to both of their desires to stay unattached, things are going remarkably well, though that is also part of the problem, as his very strict and traditional Pakistani family expect – no, require – Kumail to find a Pakistani woman to court and marry, which they are busy trying (and failing) to arrange, so he keeps his relationship with Emily on the sly.

Meanwhile, the young comedian must keep his head in the game to try to secure a spot in an important comedy festival that may kick-start his career in show business beyond local gigs. Life gets even more complicated when it is discovered that Emily is suffering from an illness that has the doctors baffled, leaving Kumail and Emily’s parents flying in from North Carolina to bond during the hospital visits, while also knowing that Kumail and Emily may not end up together, if, and when, the medical ordeal is over.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) Tom Holland – Movie Review

July 10, 2017 ~ Vince Leo

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In this outing, we find Peter Parker as an awkward teenager, who has a crush on schoolmate Liz, while also brushing up on his knowledge on a school team vying for a national academic competition. He also happens to have an internship with part-time father figure Tony Stark, who is using the opportunity to mentor the lad on the ways to use his technologically advanced costume that’s enhanced like a magic Swiss-army knife by an AI control device Peter dubs ‘Karen’ (all tech courtesy of Stark Industries) to thwart criminals around the city. He gets more than his match when the Vulture, a spurned blue-collar Joe turned hi-tech criminal named Adrian Toomes, comes on the scene, having confiscated alien technology (from the Chitauri, as a seen in Marvel’s The Avengers) in order to manufacture and sell ultra-powerful weapons on the black market.