Alan Ng

I loved Downhill for precisely what it meant to be—a character-driven comedy working its way through a painful and real conflict.

I found myself just not engaging with the lead characters and storyline as much as I like. In the end, I was just observing people dealing with a problem, while never able to be in the story as it played out.

Tells a fascinating story backed up by solid, compelling performances by Rockwell and Henson.

Aaron Fisher’s debut film is decidedly a comedy, but never draws its laughs by making light or fun of Fisher’s real struggles. He just lays his life out there, and its humorous moments bubble to the surface. Amidst the laughs come genuine and authentic moments from Fisher’s personal experiences.

The Tomorrow Man is not one of these high-dramas with something profound to say about human natures. It’s more a chance to watch two veteran actors in John Lithgow and Blythe Danner do what they spent their entire lives doing, and that’s act and act real damn good. They find that right balance between being normal and quirky to turn out a grounded performance.

Greenland 2: Migration is all mind-numbing action with nothing to say. If you’re a fan of Gerard Butler or Morena Baccarin, you will probably have fun with this one. Otherwise, it’s a skip.

Other than being dense in story, Horizon feels like a big epic western. It feels cinematic on the big screen, and the sweeping landscapes are gorgeous. The acting is top-notch from top to bottom.

It’s unique and offers a fresh take on the kitchen environment.

The Protégé is just good action-y thriller-y fun with great repeat value. It falls in that mid-range budget for an action film, maybe just a few notches below the Bourne films. So it’s the perfect popcorn and movie outing for the weekend.

Solo Mio is good, sappy fun, and the perfect date movie for all the craziness going on in the world at the moment.

Gran Turismo captures a truly remarkable young man and his journey to professional legitimacy. This is for anyone needing a jolt to the system and focusing on getting back on one’s true path in life.

As far as its storytelling, it’s good but rarely rises to the level of inspiring. Fans of Tolkien are going to find a nice, comfortable place in this film, but walk away feeling like they could have dug deeper into this life.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is fast-food when audiences demanded a five-course meal.

The Call of the Wild is actually a good story and ultimately works as a movie.

Whether you’re a Godzilla fan or not, you’ll have fun, but you’re not going to walk away feeling like you saw something spectacular or memorable for that matter.

Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik does what he does best. His portrayal is over-the-top funny and clearly, Carrey is in his element. It reminds me a lot of Fire Marshall Bill.

The Secrets of Dumbledore is hands down the best of the series.

Angel of Mine is a good movie for fans of the dysfunctional family melodrama. Primarily from the performances from its leads and a strong story that holds together to the end. The thrills are thrilling but sadly never gets to Fatal Attraction level outcomes.

For a film meant to be a milestone for 100 years of the Walt Disney Company, Wish is a monumental failure.

This cast keeps the story grounded as each man is tested throughout the film.

Boy Kills World is a two-hour roller coaster. You’ll leave exhausted and beaten, and yet feeling like maybe you too can defeat the fascist dictators in your life.

Predator is a classic action/sci-fi film, albeit a dated action/sci-fi film.

Blade is just good, plain action movie fun. It runs like a smooth roller-coaster and has excellent replay value.

It’s a photo-realistic computer-animated movie. The animation of Kong, Godzilla, and the other Kongs is mediocre at best. The backgrounds should look photo-realistic, but they don’t. I’d rather watch dudes in suits duke it out over a cardboard city than watch this cartoon mess again.

Joshua and Rebecca Tickell’s documentary, Common Ground, is that rare documentary that actually proposes solutions…practical solutions. I fear that the solutions will disappear into the void if we don’t say anything.

The appeal here is a solid story of an aging mobster with all the charm of indie filmmaking.

For a movie like this, good is not good enough; it has to be well above average for a recommendation. Unfortunately, I found myself bored through most of Mortal Kombat II.

Great villains and silly heroes make a move that ultimately falls flat.

The Mission is a straightforward documentary about the life of a Mormon missionary. Nothing controversial happens. It’s a day-in-the-life story. Though Anderson never attempts to proselytize audiences into the LDS religion, there are more than enough opportunities to hear their message.

It made bold choices to be a memorable sequel, and most of those chances are exciting. While it has some definite hits and misses, it finds its rightful place in the franchise.

The reason to see The Last Movie Star is its performances from both Burt Reynolds and Ariel Winter. It’s a sweet, solid film and a suitable bookend to Reynolds’ career as a leading actor.

Director Peter Segal knows what strings to pull to elevate the cuteness factor, and he pulls them hard. It’s all good, actiony fun, when you need a moment to unplug your brain. Even though you’ve seen this all before in other cop buddy movies, it works.

Jesus Revolution is one of my favorite faith-based Christian movies, of which I’ve seen more than my fair share. I associate three things with faith-based films: bad acting, an outrageous, overly positive message, and a shoe-horned sermon. Thankfully, this film avoids all three elements.

In any biography/drama, the key is to make audiences believe this is the real person from history. Capone just never gets there. That could be Al Capone, but nothing in the film makes me believe it’s him, nor emotionally connect with him. Capone wastes a lot of good talent, and it’s a shame.

In these divided times, films centering on political issues either make an earnest attempt to persuade the other side to consider its point of view or play to its political allies and demonize its enemies. The Public does the latter, and the result is to further widen the divide of political discourse with self-righteous finger-pointing.

The standout star here is Cailey Fleming as Bea.

The visuals make this feel like an actual Western, even though it doesn’t have the epic scale of the great Hollywood Westerns.

This feels like a high-budget television drama. Let’s face it, Jackman, Dern, and Kirby can elevate pedestrian dialogue, but they deserve higher quality work for their talent.

Strip out the thriller moments and you have an interesting film, instead, we’re left with a mediocre thriller that phones in the final act.

For a sequel/reboot, Ghostbusters: Afterlife delivers the fun of the original, albeit in very different ways.

There’s really only one reason to see Fisherman’s Friends, and it’s the singing.

If you’re suffering from superhero fatigue, this is just the palette cleanser you need.

The King’s Man doesn’t pick up in any truly incredible way until the second half, where a fantastic narrative twist happens.

Besson’s film is a magnificent achievement. More romance than terror and more faith than devilry, this film is sure to pull the heartstrings.

As far as thrillers go, The Night Clerk is a little light on thrills. That said, there are more interesting things going on, which makes the film worth watching.

Mortal Kombat is a pretty good representation of the video game. It’s all action and not much else, and normally, I do want more from my movies. But here, that is precisely the point, and I’m okay with that!

Lester takes all the wrong approaches.

Despite its touching story of family, Collisions goes a little too far in pleading its case for immigration reform and the return of DACA. If you like to engage in political debate, the film does bring up a literal myriad of issues and questions to discuss, but most likely won’t persuade many right-leaning filmgoers.

This is yet another example of the Big Studio pushing out a film for the sole reason that they own the intellectual property and believe that we, like sheep, will see it because… well, we’ll see anything because we’re desperate for content.

It does get a little sappy without a hint of darkness at all. By the end, every plotline is wrapped up nicely with a pretty bow.

Daisy Edgar-Jones is the star here and gives an incredibly endearing performance.

I’d recommend Retribution if the weather is too hot and you want to spend a few hours in air conditioning. Otherwise, it’s a pass.

The final fight at the end is fantastic. It is by far the best X-Men fight in its franchise history (not counting Deadpool).

The highlight of Snake Eyes is the action.

Between Black’s signature enthusiasm and Rudd’s insecure actor persona, there is fun to be had. Plus, Selton Mello walks off with every scene, leaving the audience at his mercy. Overall, this is good, not great.

Unfrosted is dumb. Not only is it dumb, it’s stupid. It commits the sin of being a comedy that thinks its funny. The film goes wrong in so many ways.

Unfortunately, Stuber never rises to the point of being remarkable in any way. You’ll love it, if you are a fan of either lead, otherwise, it’s a standard buddy movie.

As much as I thought the film’s heist element was unnecessary, which it is, Liman sure knows how to make it exciting and even in a pandemic. Locked Down could have been a much worse movie, but ultimately it’s a love story and a good one too.

The only thing wrong with Transformers: Rise of the Beast is that it’s bland and boring.

The problem with Brave New World falls squarely on the writing and the story.

The plot, about a man who followed his dream, just oozes optimism. If you grew up in this era, there’s a lot of nostalgia value here. Toe-tapping fun is how I’d describe my time with Spinning Gold

It dares to tell an honest history, warts and all, from its inspirational beginnings, which led me to become a Christian to its rapid decline when I learned that even the godly were imperfect people. But then again, maybe God can still use these miscreants of music.

Ultimately, Sight brings audiences a good, wholesome tale of someone who wouldn’t let his past keep him from doing good in the world.

If you like action, then you’re going to have fun, but this is by no means a perfect movie and doesn’t stack well against old-school MCU (everything up to phase three). Its weakness lies in the by-the-book story and does nothing to overcome the superhero fatigue we’ve been feeling for a while.

In Created Equal, Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife Virginia tell his life story using over 30 hours of interview time, personal photos, and archival news footage and does not shy away from the big moments of his life.

The chemistry between McCarthy and Cannavale is great. I could see an entire, more traditional rom-com starring the two of them.

The entire film seems to be the book’s narrative highlights strung together but rarely spotlights any of the themes or subtext from the book (if there are any). I don’t think this David Lynch film is Lynchian in any way. To me, Dune is a straightforward adventure with very little depth or character motivation outside the genre’s tropes.

Everything in Easter Sunday is played for laughs… crazy family, wacky mob thriller, and lots of cameos. It’s all good, light fun. See it because you’re a fan of Jo Koy or just to get to know a little more about your Filipino brothers and sisters.

If you want to make an indie comedy, watch and study Eat Wheaties!

The Bromley Boys is a light comedic drama, and you’ll have a good time if anything British is your cup of tea.

Much like anyone in the throes of recovery, this journey is not a nice, tight, three-act Hollywood story with a perfect dramatic ending. Finding “normal” is a distant speck on the horizon for Hogancamp and this film depicts only a small segment.

The 355 is good old action fun with a well-constructed story and better than all of the bad James Bond movies. That’s right, Octopussy! I’m talking about you. I’m hoping The 355 is the right direction for female-driven action movies.

It is Foy’s performance and presence that makes you want to stay to the end. She is the girl thrust into leadership with the vulnerabilities of her young age and with youthful curiosity. She’s not a child pretending to be an adult, but a child forced to act like one.

This is a thoughtful, visually inventive film showcasing Zemeckis’ continued willingness to push cinematic boundaries.

Inherit The Viper had the potential to be an exciting thriller with dramatic family elements. Instead, its characters fall flat as if the actors were not allowed or unwilling to flesh out their characters more.

UglyDolls is good for the kids and a great way to occupy their attention for almost 90 minutes. For the adults, it’s just another uninspired children’s film to hold us over until the next one comes along.

If you’ve ever felt alone and ignored in life, Dear Evan Hansen may touch you in profound ways.

Jaafar Jackson doesn’t sing a note (nor should he), but he’s got his uncle’s moves locked in cold, and there are moments where you genuinely forget you’re not watching the real thing. Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson is flat-out frightening — the man commands every scene, and the movie actually plays down how bad Joe was, which is saying something.

What makes it enjoyable is that it’s a relatively grounded action film…relatively.

Flight Risk is a fun yet simple and straightforward thriller where you have a general sense of where things are headed at first, and then Gibson pulls in a surprise or two or three.

Everyone has defined, and distinct characters and no one is phoning it in. Just sit back and enjoy this unique romantic comedy.

Performances alone cannot save an uninspired script. The story is not bad per se, but it’s not original or inspired and therefore Making Babies wallows in mediocrity, when it needed to make a choice between going for real laughs or have something profound to say about having children to make the journey worth taking.

If you’re going in hoping for something the whole family can genuinely connect with on a deeper level, you’ll be disappointed. It’s a kids’ movie, plain and simple, and there’d be no way I’d see this if I didn’t have kids.

It’s all about the action, and the story only gets in the way a little bit. I have high praise for this, though I’m not sure if The Killer’s Game is the vehicle that will launch Bautista into the action star he’s capable of becoming.

It’s tough to watch, and you will fight the urge to walk out but stick with it.

Knights of the Zodiac is a good production in terms of its action and cast. But when one focuses so much on the fantasy-action set-pieces, having a soulless story makes all efforts fall flat.

It’s a good-looking movie overall.

Overall, the movie’s performances are good, not great, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Schadt’s story is solid in choosing the three paths for his characters to go down. He then takes the consequences of their inaction to its logical conclusions and a decidedly thriller-esque conclusion.

Love Hurts is a prime example of what happens when a film spreads itself too thin trying to juggle multiple genres—it drops all the balls. Ultimately, it’s a forgettable attempt at blending action and romance, proving once again that genre mashups rarely deliver a knockout.

As unoriginal and awkward as Like a Boss is, Byrne and Haddish do everything in their power to elevate the mundane script to something worth viewing.

The movie, like the play, is a series of delightful songs strung together by a thin, loose thread of a plot, which lends a little credence to all the criticism and mockery online. But once you know this and have been warned by the trailer, what you’re in for is a remarkably fun time at the movies.

What you find is this isn’t a political film about the self-destructive life of a conservative blowhard. It’s a family drama, set in the world of politics with a message of daring to change the conversation by listening to one another.

The documentary may make you angry at times (or throughout), but that’s actually a good thing.

The story is unique, and the end revelations are clever but fall short of mind-blowing (which is the bar). Lathrop Walker carries the film from beginning to end. He’s exciting and likable. He excels at his stunt work and provides the empathy we need for his character to carry us to the finish line.

Paradise City is a fun and lightweight tale for an evening of Hulu and chill. It’s not going to change the world, but it’s entertaining enough, especially considering Willis’s recent retirement.

Like a good thriller, Inheritance draws you in and takes you right into the middle of the action. Then when it’s all over, you’ll want to revisit it as soon as possible to pick up on all the little details and clues. It feels real, which adds to the intensity.

Under The Stadium Lights stands out because of its two veteran actors in Milo Gibson and Laurence Fishburne.