By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB The big drawback to getting in an advance review of “Coyote vs. Acme” last week is that “Insidious: Out of the Further” is even less relevant this week. The horror film toppled from second place to fourth at the domestic box office, behind even the seventh weekend of “The Odyssey,” while “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” continues to dominate at #1. Fortunately, that drawback is offset by the knowledge that the film was never worth mu

By Bob Garver Poster credit IDMDB The dialogue-free Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons are my favorite of the Looney Tunes. No jokes centered around annoying accents or speech impediments, just pure physical comedy about a hapless carnivore and his Ahab-like obsession with catching and eating a skinny flightless bird. Although the cartoons are ridiculous, they follow strict rules, outlined by creator Chuck Jones. Rules include the action always having to take place in the

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB It takes a very generous suspension of disbelief to enjoy “One Night Only.” The film is set in a not-too-distant future where premarital sex is outlawed, save for one night a year. Comparisons to “The Purge” are inevitable, which to me raises an interesting question: Which would lead to more violent crime in this country – one night of legalized violent crime, or gradually-building sexual frustration on all but one night?

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB When we last left Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (Tom Holland) back in 2021, he had to submit to a spell from Doctor Strange that would make the world forget he ever existed. His Aunt May (Marissa Tomei) had died, so he had no family left, but he had to watch his friends Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya), go off to college without him, blissfully unaware of what they meant to him. As we rejoin Peter in “Spider-Man: Br

By Bob Garver Quite understandably, major studios didn’t want to schedule any new releases for the weekend between “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” I had to go down past fifth place at the domestic box office to find some also-rans that I hadn’t reviewed yet. “Evil Dead Burn” Poster credit IMDB “Evil Dead” is a horror franchise that started out low-budget and shlocky in the 80’s, and has grown to be trusted with more resources as

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB Few film adaptations require more ambition than Homer’s “The Odyssey,” the quintessential epic. And perhaps no filmmaker has been more ambitious this millennium than Christopher Nolan, the man who told an entire story backward with “Memento,” conquered the superhero genre with his “Dark Knight” trilogy, and dominated the Oscars three years ago with “Oppenheimer.” If anyone can handle a challenge as vast as “The Odyssey,” it’s Nol

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB I am well aware of the case against Disney’s live-action remake of its 2016 animated hit “Moana,” namely that the original film is less than ten years old and doesn’t need a remake, and also that Disney live-action remakes are lazy cash-grabs in general. And I agree with a lot about that argument. I’d rather see Disney put its resources into developing new ideas instead of rehashing old ones, especially when it means trading the magic of Disn

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB “Minions & Monsters” is the seventh cinematic outing for the Minions, and the third where they take center stage, as opposed to playing backup for former supervillain Gru. The jellybean-like animated gibberish-spewers all voiced by Pierre Coffin are once again taking the prequel route, as their story is told by a modern-day movie studio tour guide (Allison Janney), though a further framing device modifies even that context.

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB Krypto the Superdog isn’t very cute in “Supergirl.” I understand that the way the pup was rendered for this film involved taking a real dog (who probably was very cute) and slathering CGI all over his likeness. The result is a dog whose face looks unnatural and with whom I couldn’t connect during emotional scenes. You know your Super-whatever movie is in trouble when you can’t make a character like Krypto loveable. Kr

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB Simply put, “Toy Story” is my favorite movie franchise of all time. The 1995 original about cowboy doll Woody (Tom Hanks) fighting for relevance against hi-tech spaceman action figure Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) was a groundbreaking first for computer animation – not to mention about the most fun a kid could possibly have at a theater… until three worthy sequels came along. I’ve seen the original six times in theaters – my personal record. I wa

By Bob Garver Poster Credit IMDB All-time-great director Steven Spielberg is back with a film built around one of his most popular subjects: aliens. From the man that brought us “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” comes “Disclosure Day,” a film about a small group of people deciding that it is time to let the rest of humanity know that they are not alone in the universe. After deeply personal project “The Fabelmans,” this is Spie

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB From the fifth “Scream” movie proving a shockingly strong January release in 2022 to “Backrooms” opening to over $81 million just last weekend, the past few years have been some of the best ever for the horror genre. So it makes sense that this would be a good time to revive the “Scary Movie” franchise and spoof some contemporary classics. And not only are franchise mainstays Anna Faris and Regina Hall back for this sixth install

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB Last week, I reviewed “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which was based on a series that I hadn’t seen, but I was well-aware of its larger world and its place in popular culture. This week is “Backrooms,” which is also based on a series that I haven’t seen, and was in no way known to me until a few weeks ago. Even once I did hear about it, it struck me as an obscure, niche product for horror nerds. Yet both films are estimated to have

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is coming at an interesting time in the history of “Star Wars.” It is a test to see if the franchise’s recent success on the small screen can translate to blockbuster status on the big screen. I have not seen “The Mandalorian” streaming series on Disney+, though I know of its massive success. I could even imagine a world where a “Mandalorian” movie makes enough money to have a legitimate place alongsid

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB With “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and “Michael” still ruling the domestic box office, I thought I’d give this week’s review spot to a couple of also-rans from the past two weeks. “Mortal Kombat II” The 2021 “Mortal Kombat” movie was a disaster that left fans disappointed for many reasons, not least of which was that it didn’t feature any fights from the much-hyped tournament for universal supremacy. At least in “Mortal K

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB I had never seen 2006’s “The Devil Wears Prada” until a few weeks ago when I watched it in preparation for the sequel. I didn’t care for it, mainly due to the off-putting character of Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). I knew going in that the fashion magazine editor’s dialogue was filled with verbal put-downs that were supposedly eccentrically charming, but I mostly just found unfunny, unprofessional, and rude. Such constant nega

By Bob Garver Poster Credit IMDB The big problem with “Michael,” the new Michael Jackson biopic, is that it has the approval of the Jackson family. As such, we are going to get a very flattering portrait of possibly the single most controversial personality in the history of the music industry. The scandals that plagued his later years are an unignorable part of his legacy, no matter how much this movie tries to ignore them. Simply put: a movie with this much lo

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB Prior to what I will generously call his “new take” on “The Mummy,” director Lee Cronin was best known for 2023’s “Evil Dead Rise.” Original “Evil Dead” director Sam Raimi had a new movie out earlier this year with “Send Help,” and he didn’t put his name in that film’s title. And his name carries real weight, he directed the Tobey Maguire “Spider-Man” trilogy back in the 2000’s. But the guy who directed the fifth “Evil Dead” movi

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB Good news, grown-ups, even though most of the screens at your local theater are probably still devoted to “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” there’s a decent option for adults in one of the other houses. I’m convinced that “The Drama” has stayed in the top three at the domestic box office for the past two weekends by reeling in parents who don’t want to watch Mario with their kids, but don’t want to leave the theater. Or it could be good advertis

By Bob Garver 2023 brought audiences “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” by far the most successful cinematic adaptation of a video game ever. It was a wonder how appealing the property was with vibrant, colorful animation and respect for both its source material and its audience. I couldn’t bring myself to recommend the film, as the story, action, characters, and humor never really “came together” for me, but it was definitely a step in the right direction.