Movie Reviews

2023 is certainly off to an impressive start, movie-wise. Usually the new year allows holiday releases to continue dominating for a week or two before unleashing anything heavy-duty. To be clear, “Avatar: The Way of Water” did still dominate the weekend with $45 million domestic against the $30 million debut of “M3GAN,” but $30 million…

By Bob Garver “A Man Called Otto” has not been a well-marketed film. The strategy of the film’s advertising seems to be, “You know how Tom Hanks usually plays likeable/heroic characters to go along with his reputation for being a nice guy in real life? Come to this movie to get the opposite of that!…

By Bob Garver Without a lot of new mainstream releases stepping up to the plate this past weekend, there was room for a surprise hit. Enter “Pathaan,” an action movie from India that racked up nearly $6 million at the domestic box office despite playing on fewer than 700 screens. My guess is that many…

By Bob Garver It never found enough of an audience to warrant a review from me, but I really liked “Searching” back in 2018. I would have given it a grade of B, maybe an A- if I was willing to look past some outstanding questions. The taut mystery-thriller followed a father’s search for his…

By Bob Garver “Redeeming Love” is a cross between a Christian movie, a mushy romance, and a demented exploitation film. This might sound like an intriguing combination, but the genres do not go well together, nor do they result in an entertaining trainwreck. On top of my many, many complaints about this movie, it cannot…

By Bob Garver There were no new wide movie releases this past weekend, and I can’t say I blame the studios given that a snowstorm kept much of the East Coast indoors. Outside of the COVID era, I think this is the farthest down the weekly box office chart I’ve ever had to go to…

By Bob Garver With an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, “Jackass Forever” is more beloved than some of the movies that will soon be vying for Best Picture at the Oscars. What’s so special about this movie? It certainly isn’t that Johnny Knoxville and his crew are doing anything different with the “Jackass” template; the movie…

By Bob Garver It is ironic that the #1 movie at the domestic box office on Valentine's weekend would be one where all but one relationship ends badly. If you are watching this movie with a partner, be sure to say something like, “Good thing we’re not as screwed up as these people, right?” If…

By Bob Garver Solving puzzles is fun. Watching other people solve puzzles is less fun. Watching entire movies built around fictional characters solving puzzles (where the filmmakers have already decided whether or not the characters will ultimately solve the puzzles) is even less fun. It’s why I could never get into those “Escape Room” movies.…