Rider (R) ***** Let me start by saying this is a remarkable film for many reasons, most of all the story. It is the story of a young man, Brady Blackburn (Brady Jandreau) who was a rodeo rider until suffering…
Mike at the Movies
Category: Mike at the Movies
Mike at the Movies
Avengers: Infinity War (PG-13) ***** Just to list the characters in this epic would take all the space for this review. Let us say that the screen is filled with super heroes and one tremendous villain and that the film…
Mike at the Movies
Isle of Dogs (PG-13) ***** An extraordinarily funny, clever and moving animated experience is what awaits you in this cross-cultural epic. “Epic” if only because it has an amazingly large cast of bi-national voiceover stars (Japanese and American, including Yoko…
Mike at the Movies
Love, Simon (PG-13) **** One of the better, wittier and more sensitive of high school pictures that’s come along in a long time. Nick Robinson is Simon, a high school senior wistfully making it to graduation while protecting his secret…
Mike at the Movies
Red Sparrow (R) **** Jennifer Lawrence is certifiably one of the most beautiful women ever to grace the screen. She certainly holds up that standard in this film about espionage and betrayal at many levels. Her dance double, Isabella Boylston,…
Mike at the Movies
Black Panther (PG-13) ***** There has been a lot of publicity about this film, and the reasons why are apparent early on. Wakanda is an African nation, hidden away from the rest of the world and a technological paradise. It…
Mike at the Movies
Peter Rabbit (PG) ***** A rival for the recently released “Paddington Bear” hit, this one is equally as clever with even funnier dialogue. James Corden does a crackerjack job as the antagonistic Peter. A supporting cast including Sia, Sam Neill,…
Mike at the Movies
Call Me by Your Name (R) ***** This is a tricky film to review because while it can seem salacious the film is largely not. Elio (Timothée Chalamet) is a 17-year-old living in northern Italy where he “… reads books…
Palm Springs International Film Festival Dazzles
Filing from The Town Courier’s West Coast office, I was privileged to take in a major film festival recently—The Palm Springs International Film Festival (IFF), now in its 29th year. This year the congenial village that I retired to (after…
Mike at the Movies
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (PG-13) ***** This film, like its predecessors, overwhelms you early with a powerful musical score, visuals and the action but, unlike most of today’s special effects spectacles, it keeps you riveted until the last credits…