James Berardinelli

6 days ago | reelviews.net | James Berardinelli

I can hear the pitch now: “It’s like Bullet Train, only on a plane.” And there you have it – a low-rent version of the 2022 David Leitch thriller except, instead of speeding across Japan, this time things are happening in the not-so-friendly skies.

1 week ago | reelviews.net | James Berardinelli

When it comes to simple favors, the last thing that we need is another one. It would have been different if the first film, 2018’s A Simple Favor, had been deserving of a sequel rather than being just another failed comedy/thriller that only a few dedicated fans will remember. Nevertheless, in an era when older titles are being strip-mined with unseemly desperation, someone decided there was value in revisiting the characters of Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Blake Lively).

2 weeks ago | reelviews.net | James Berardinelli

Expectations can be an unfortunate thing. Over the years, my fondness for Ben Affleck’s 2016 thriller, The Accountant, has not waned so, when I learned that the character was returning for another outing after a nine-year gap, I was hopeful. Alas, even the calculated reunion of the original band – director Gavin O’Connor, screenwriter Bill Dubuque, and actors Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, and J.K. Simmons – isn’t enough to craft a worthy follow-up.

2 weeks ago | reelviews.net | James Berardinelli

Until Dawn is a gimmick movie – a production with just enough tantalizing moments to assemble an intriguing 3-minute trailer but not nearly enough to comprise a full-length feature. It’s technically based on a video game, although the connective strands are limited to a few thematic elements, the occasional Easter egg, and the presence of actor Peter Stormare. Like far too many game-to-film adaptations, the better option is to fire up the PS5 and stay far, far away from the multiplex.

3 weeks ago | reelviews.net | James Berardinelli

Sinners commits one of the rarest of rare transgressions in modern cinema: it’s too ambitious. Writer/director Ryan Coogler has far too much to say for one movie but, instead of opting for another medium in which to present the story or shaving off the portions that don’t work in this context, he opts for this approach. The result is a glorious mess – a movie with its share of great moments and instances of cinematic chutzpah that don’t congeal into a tangible whole.