Dominic Griffin

Freelance Pop Culture Writer and Film Critic at Freelance

yr fave film critic (podcast) - the armchair auteur (youtube) - @rottentomatoes approved - movie reviews at @looper & @baltbeat

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Articles

Sinners Review: Ryan Coogler's Most Ambitious Movie Yet Hits More Than It Misses

1 week ago | looper.com | Dominic Griffin

RATING : 7.5 / 10 Sumptuous and immersive visuals A diverse and entertaining ensemble Suspense and horror well balanced against the drama … … but not so much the action Tries to be too many different films at once Pacing struggles The experimental use of music is one big swing too many In a recent interview conducted by NBA living legend LeBron James, director Ryan Coogler called his new film "Sinners" his most personal yet, despite looking on the surface like a big, crowd-pleasing popcorn...
A Working Man Review: Jason Statham Shines In David Ayer's Formulaic Thriller

4 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Dominic Griffin

3 hours agoHulk Hogan Ex-Wife Linda Hogan Breaks Down Crying ... My Family's a Mess!Linda Hogan broke down on social media, tearfully telling her followers her life's a disaster ... placing much of the blame on ex-hubby Hulk Hogan.
A Working Man Review: Jason Statham Shines In David Ayer's Formulaic Thriller

4 weeks ago | looper.com | Dominic Griffin

RATING : 6 / 10 Truly thrilling fight scenes and stunning use of physicalityA tight runtimeJason Statham is reliably captivating The first act feels a bit sluggishAggressively paint-by-number In Jason Statham's nearly 30-year career as a movie star, he has largely succeeded by the maxim that if it ain't broke, there's no need to fix it.
‘Luther: Never Too Much’ is a refreshing celebration

1 month ago | baltimorebeat.com | Dominic Griffin

Speaking on the impact and influence of our greatest musicians can feel like a fruitless endeavor. Some artists, like R&B legend Luther Vandross, shine a light so bright that attempts to measure its luminance through text amount to little more than waving a small flashlight around in the dark. It’s impossible not to fall for someone so brazenly dedicated to a life in song, destined to exist in the shimmering glow of stage lighting.
‘Mickey 17’ is a freewheeling sci-fi satire

1 month ago | baltimorebeat.com | Dominic Griffin

After winning four Academy Awards for “Parasite” in 2020, including the first Best Picture statuette awarded to a non-English-language film, South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho had a blank check in his pocket. Statistically, he will never be better situated to do whatever he wants. So, what has he chosen to do with that cultural cache?
Black Bag Review: An Exquisite Spy Thriller From The Prolific Soderbergh

1 month ago | looper.com | Dominic Griffin

RATING : 8.5 / 10 Mercifully tight runtimeAn exceptional ensembleSome crisp screenwriting Considerably less action packed than the marketing suggests It has been less than a decade since filmmaker Steven Soderbergh returned from his brief flirtation with retirement, and in that span he has become more prolific than ever.
“Nickel Boys” is a harrowing rumination on optimism versus cynicism

1 month ago | baltimorebeat.com | Dominic Griffin

When it came time to write the follow-up to his 2016 novel “The Underground Railroad,” a magical alternate history take on the Antebellum South, Colson Whitehead initially wanted to write something lighter. He hesitated to dive back into a project that required reckoning with the heaviness of Black American history. But this was the beginning of the first Trump administration.
Captain America: Brave New World Review - This Winter Soldier-Like Entry Fails To Push The MCU Forward

2 months ago | looper.com | Dominic Griffin

RATING : 7 / 10 Grounded and more straightforward than recent MCU chapters Lean and mean, compared to most modern comic book adaptations Anthony Mackie holds his own in the lead Doesn’t push the franchise forward in any real way Has moments that look embarrassingly bad given how expensive we know this project to be After suffering through some highly publicized reshoots and changes, it's been something of a mystery as to what kind of film "Captain America: Brave New World" would be once all...
“Girl 6” presaged the loneliness of romance in the OnlyFans era

2 months ago | baltimorebeat.com | Dominic Griffin

In the ‘90s, before the recent proliferation of OnlyFans and similarly-minded platforms, lonely and undersexed men in society would turn toward premium-rate phone numbers where anonymous women performed elaborate role-play through the landline. Modern viewers with internet-tortured attention spans may struggle to see the appeal in the lack of visuals, but perhaps a revisit of Spike Lee’s criminally underrated 1996 film “Girl 6” can rectify that misconception.
‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ highlights the limits of the Disney remake

2 months ago | baltimorebeat.com | Dominic Griffin

Live-action remakes of classic animated Disney projects are no new phenomena. Dating back to 1994’s “The Jungle Book,” the studio has attempted to, with mixed results, double dip into their history. But it wasn’t until 2016’s second attempt at remaking their beloved Kipling adaptation that the advances in CGI technology made it so that no project could be too ambitious to spin the block on.