Alan Ng

In the end, what we have with In Like Flynn is an homage to the action-adventure tales of old Hollywood, appealing to the fans of the adventure films of old.

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.

Beyond The Night is a solid film with a solid story, good acting, and beautifully shot.

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.

As Sawyer, Hermione Corfield is probably the most famous of the film’s cast. She is the film’s solid foundation and carries it to the finale. She’s believable, strong, and sympathetic.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is probably the best-animated superhero tale to do justice to the pulp comic book fan both in style and content. It upholds the spirit of Marvel Comics by juxtaposing the humanity of each hero and villain against the prerequisite kick-ass action sequences. At let’s face facts, the art direction is the true star of the film.

If they had gotten the music right, it could have stood by the original classic.

The People’s Republic of Desire is a psychological treatise on self-worth, and the lab rats are the citizens of China.

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.

Colvin’s downward spiral not only sucked the positive energy from her friends and colleagues, but it will take it away from you as well. Quite frankly, this is a good thing. Films don’t always have to end with rainbows and lollipops to be powerful.

There are enough facts and inspiration to make Tiger worth watching. Mickey Rourke always gives a good performance, and he still fits in the boxing setting. The downside is the story’s structure is unoriginal insuring Tiger will never leap beyond being just a good film.

The most intriguing aspect of Chef Flynn is its honesty.

It’s a film that will surprise you if you give it a chance.

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.

Serious actors will find a whole new respect for these women and their individual contributions to film and theater, who fought through way through a system made for men and blazed a path for those who followed. And fans of one or all the dames will see the object of their fandom be real, open, and honest.

In Making Montgomery Clift, you see how brilliant an actor Clift was. You see his love of the art of storytelling, developing characters with depth and dimension, and his willingness to put the final product over his own ego. He loved living life just as much as portraying it on screen.

Love Gilda is one of those documentaries that will make you laugh, touch your heart, and inspire to make the most of your life without fear.

Filmmaker Heather Lenz pieces together a fascinating story of this little-known, yet wildly popular artist.

While The Dawn Wall brings you up close to the miraculous feat of Caldwell and Jorgeson, the backstory (particularly of Caldwell) is just as amazing.

As a documentary, Rodents of Usual Size makes good use of animation illustrating how Louisiana got itself into this environmental disaster. The filmmakers interview a wide variety of citizens who come at the problem from their own unique perspective. They also capture some of the most once beautiful and now devastating images of Louisiana itself.

Dark Money does succeed in presenting a strong case for campaign finance reform.

You must see Operation Finale solely for this interaction between Malkin and Eichmann (Isaac and Kingsley).

In the end, Restoring Tomorrow reminds us that you can restore an old historic building to its original beauty, but it’s ultimately about the people.

Rockwell and Schwartz are basically doing their version of a Hope-and-Crosby road film. They play characters very familiar to an American audience and that is played against a British comedic landscape. The result it interesting to watch, but I think more for the Brits than its American counterparts.

The Motive is a fun, light film with a sad sack lead we can love and good laughs sprinkled throughout.

Do You Trust This Computer is informative at the least. Everyone and everything comes off as credible, and the philosophy comes off as plausible. It effectively plants the seeds of paranoia.

If there was one reason to see 40 Years in the Making: The Magic Music Movie is for its music. Constantly playing in the background, you’ll find an appreciation for how good this band was, how a band this good could never find success, and how the group’s dynamic tore it down.

The only excuse you have not to see Crazy Rich Asians is because you hate love.