Two stars BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

It’s very difficult to pull off a truly compelling ‘I found Jesus’ movie that isn’t a bit schmaltzy. This is an overall well enough done movie that tells an interesting(and true) story that is reassuring to believers (I am one) but doesn’t do ‘quite’ enough to push the unsure, agnostic or atheist over the Jesus Goal Line. That said, it’s an ok film,...

Elite prep school student Charlie weekend “caretakes” for spending money a cantankerous, self-destructive army Lt. Col. (Al Pacino) whose meteoric rise to almost general was halted by a drunken game of chicken with a hand grenade that left him blind. Charlie needs money to go home to Oregon for Christmas; the colonel’s family who quarters uncle Frank needs someone to look after him while they...

Predictable sports movies are fun; Cinderella sports movies accurate down to exact shots, blocks, and body checks are few. Director Gavin O’Connor casted hockey players who could act in the reenactment of a ragtag bunch of college hockey players facing off against - [/and defeating] - the juggernaut Soviet Red Army hockey team in the Lake Placid 1980 Olympics. The attention to recreating game details...

Turn off your brain, suspend reality, and enjoy this mindless, cliché nugget. Just as Hallmark Channel is the ‘go to’ for women who want to escape and put their brains in low idle, Torque is a most suitable male equivalent. That said, you will be hard pressed to find any women who will endure the mindless predictable bravado, misunderstood and ‘on the lam’ Ford (played by Martin Henderson),...

"The Father" is more than a drama about dementia - it's a profound philosophical meditation on the nature of human perception and the reliability of our mind as a tool for understanding reality. Director Florian Zeller masterfully immerses viewers in Anthony's consciousness (brilliantly portrayed by Anthony Hopkins), creating a unique perspective where objective reality constantly interweaves with...

Doris Dörrie's "Enlightenment Guaranteed" shatters Western romanticized notions of Eastern spiritual practices through a compelling narrative of two German brothers whose path to enlightenment proves far more challenging than they could have imagined. The Journey Begins The initial premise might sound like the beginning of a comedy: one brother, a dedicated meditation practitioner, seeks to deepen...

This film gets shat on by just about anyone, from yokels who don't understand what is going on, to fanatic types from both parts of the political (and mental) spectrum and that is partially justified, it's not a very reactionary film and badly acted at times. Now I certainly had my doubts about this film the first moment I started watching, I thought it was just awkward. I was expecting something...