F9: The Fast Saga (2021) – Justin Lin

As previously mentioned The Fast and The Furious franchise passed fast and accelerated to ludicrous a while ago. Fast 9 doubles down on that outrageous aspect and with a ninth film we finally learn that Dom (Vin Diesel) Mia (Jordana Brewster) have a brother, Jacob (John Cena). It seems Jacob is just as good a…

Pitch Perfect 3 (2017) – Trish Sie

There’s, arguably, a good film and story in Pitch Perfect 3, something about the family we’re from and the family we find, but from the opening sequence, which involves an exploding yacht, I knew this one was going to be a mess. There’s some wonderful ideas, casting John Lithgow in the role of Fat Amy’s…

Cocaine Bear (2023) – Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Banks settles into the director’s chair again and delivers a mostly entertaining comedy thriller, which is loosely based on a true story, Cocaine Bear. Featuring an all-star cast led by Keri Russell, the film swings from working brilliantly to just falling a little flat. But damn if Banks doesn’t swing for the fences. There…

The Last Action Heroes (2023) – Nick de Semlyen

If you were wandering the aisles of the video stores in the 80s like I was, you were always looking for something fun and exciting to watch and a good percentage of the time one of the films that found its way home with me, or passed to me by a friend at school would…

The A-Team (2010) – Joe Carnahan

Sometimes you just want to relax with a fun action movie, where it seems like the heroes are having a great time, and there’s a lot to watch and enjoy as set pieces roll across the screen. 2010’s update on the classic Lupo/Cannell series The A-Team is very much one of those movies for me….

Lifeforce (1985) – Tobe Hooper

Special effects wizard John Dykstra, legendary composer Henry Mancini, Alien scribe Dan O’Bannon, Sir Patrick Stewart, and the lovely Mathilda May are all part of Tobe Hooper’s sci-fi vampire movie. And you’d think that with credits like that, including Steve Railsback and Peter Firth would make this a solid entry in the Monsters in the…

Battlefield Earth (2000) – Roger Christian

Sometimes, bad is bad. And this stop with the Sci-Fi Chronicles Book demonstrates how bad. There is absolutely nothing redeeming about this film, and it’s a wonder that any of those involved walked away with the semblance of a career.  Based on L. Ron Hubbard’s titanic novel, the film stars John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, and…