Robinson Crusoe (aka The Wild Life) movie review: castaway… you know, for kids!
A bland electronic babysitter, suitable only for small children still distracted by bright colors, slapstick cartoon animals, and simplistic wordplay.
fantasy
Zoom movie review: zoom out
This is what happens when men try to tell a story primarily about women — and also try to ape Charlie Kaufman — and fail miserably.
Pete’s Dragon movie review: big friendly dragon
More like a pleasant walk in a redwood forest with a boy and his dragon than a rollicking adventure, but its serenity and warm heart are infectious.
The Legend of Tarzan and Free State of Jones movies review: enough with the white saviors
Filtering other people’s stories through the eyes of white men is tedious and offensive, and it feels like a desperate hedge against fresh perspectives.
Ice Age: Collision Course movie review: where is a mass extinction when you need one?
The Ice Age flicks are the cinematic equivalent of drive-through nuggets of reconstituted chicken slurry served by a bored teenager in a cardboard hat.
Ghostbusters movie review: boo yeah!
Kate McKinnon’s gleefully reckless physicist is brainy comic mayhem, unlike any female character we’ve seen before. And there are more reasons to cheer.
Now You See Me 2 movie review: now you don’t
The delicately balanced foolishness of Now You See Me gives way to impossibly supernatural magic tricks aimed at thwarting the least menacing villain ever.
The Secret Life of Pets movie review: dogs and cats living together…
Charming. A cleverly constructed and amusingly rendered fantasy adventure that sings with a sweet, wistful devotion to home, family, and friendship.
The BFG movie review: that sense of wonder where it all went wrong
Fantasy meandering twists into something more action-oriented, and there’s little magic in it. This is not what we expect from a master cinematic fantasist.
Warcraft: The Beginning (aka Warcraft) movie review: guest review by a white male teenage nerd from 1987
Like all Frazetta fantasy posters came to life all at once. A masterpiece of cinema that truly speaks to the interests of white male teenage nerds from 1987.
