Month: January 2024
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An Amish Murder review: Neve Campbell plays a cop
An Amish Murder stars Neve Campbell as a small town chief of police. She was uniquely qualified for the job because she’d grown up Amish in the town and left her community years ago. She went away and came back later as a police officer. Her family still lived in the area, but none of…
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Role Play review: another secret assassin story
Role Play is just like The Family Plan, which I reviewed last week. Except the secret assassin in the family is a woman, not a man. And except The Family Plan was kind of funny and Role Play is on the tired, flat side. Also except, I thought Kaley Cuoco was miscast as the killer.…
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Killers of the Flower Moon review: an ugly part of American history exposed
Killers of the Flower Moon hit theaters at a time when certain factions in America want to erase the sins of the past from history. Martin Scorsese directed this movie, which takes a 3 hour and 28 minute look at one of those sinful episodes. The story involves the Osage people of Oklahoma, who had…
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The Brothers Sun review: great Asian cast headed by Michelle Yeoh
The Brothers Sun stars an all Asian cast in a tale about family and the Taiwanese Triads. The 8 part series is an unusual combination of violence and family love and loyalty. It always feels a little tongue-in-cheek and trope busting, especially Michelle Yeoh’s character. There was plenty of Mandarin spoken by the characters.
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Echo review: Marvel gets this one right
Echo is a Marvel character origin story, but this isn’t the usual superhero origin story. Echo, or Maya Lopez, is played by Alaqua Cox. Alaqua Cox is everything in her real life that Maya is. She’s a Native American, ASL using deaf woman with a prosthetic leg. Maya was introduced into the Marvel cinematic universe…
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The Family Plan review: comedy / action combo punch
The Family Plan is silly and far-fetched with action, perfect zingers of one-liners, and goofy fun. With Mark Wahlberg as the father, Dan, and Michelle Monaghan as his wife Jesse, this seemingly ordinary suburban family in Buffalo turns out to be hiding a big secret. With Mark Wahlberg as the hero, you know the secret…
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Fool Me Once review: another Harlan Coben mystery series
Fool Me Once stars Michelle Keegan as a former army officer who is a suspect in several murders. It’s typical Harlan Coben in that there are many plot twists and surprises, some red herrings, and an unexpected ending. It’s set in the UK in the posh homes and schools of the wealthy.
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Full Time review: a single mom’s frantic schedule
Full Time (À plein temps) shows in frantic, fast-moving detail what life is like in the week of a life. Julie (Laure Calamy) is a single mom. She’s having a bad week because her ex has not sent the alimony money and the bank is calling her about her mortgage. He’s unreachable, her son’s birthday…
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Susie Searches review: searching for social media fame
Susie Searches is a fun suspense tale. It’s transparent and simplistic, but still enjoyable and highly entertaining. Susie (Kiersey Clemons as an adult) has a gift. From an young age, she could tell who the murderer was early in a mystery. She’s always right. Now in college, she wants to parlay that talent into a…