The Cinematic Review-verse

Allison Williams and McKenna Grace in ‘Regretting You.’ Courtesy of IMDb.com and Paramount Pictures. On October 25, I had the pleasure of watching ‘ Regretting You ’, based on the book by ' It Ends with Us ' author Colleen Hoover . Screenwriter Susan McMartin wrote it well with dialogue that described real-life grief situations, and there was great acting from Allison Williams , McKenna Grace ,  Dave Franco and Mason Thames .  Williams played Morgan Grant, the mother of Clara, played by McKenna Grace. Morgan’s husband Chris, played by Scott Eastwood, and sister Jenny, played by Willa Fitzgerald, both die in a car crash, rocking Morgan, Clara, and Jenny’s husband Jonah, played by Dave Franco, to their cores. On the side, Clara is trying to gain independence from her controlling mother and figure out her plans for after high school and her romance with classmate Miller Adams, played by Mason Thames. The writing for ‘Regretting You’ should be praised because it reflected real-li...

Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen in 'Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.' Courtesy of 20th Century Studios. In another 20th Century Studios musical biopic drama, Jeremy Allen White took the lead as New Jersey 's Bruce Springsteen in 'Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.' It seemed similar to other biopics such as the ones about Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, with a hint of Bart Millard, but it's the passion and characterization in White's portrayal accompanied by a colorful characters and powerful heartland rock songs that made it a great film in its own right. And it makes me want to listen The Boss a bit more. 'Springsteen' switches between the late 50s and early 1980s, chronicling Bruce's overcoming childhood trauma from his abusive father, played by Stephen Graham, and creating his Nebraska album. There's also the matter of his burgeoning romantic relationship with single mother Faye Romano , played by Odessa Young . White did a ...

  Tron: Ares poster. Courtesy of Disney. Tron: Ares was a sequel that didn't need to happen, but light-cycled well, anyway. From Jared Leto humanizing another Dillinger-brand living weapon to the gumption from Greta Lee to the amazing special effects to the great industrial and electronic scoring by Nine Inch Nails , it did a little justice to the original 1982 classic. Years after Tron: Legacy , rather than just bringing humans into the computer, ENCOM founder Ed Dillinger's grandson Julian, played by Evan Peters , sets up an AI named Ares , played by Jared Leto , as part of a plan to bring living technology into the real world. Unfortunately, under Julian's authority, those programs can only last a few minutes in the real world, but he's determined not to let that stop him from becoming a powerful tech billionaire. Ares teams up with ENCOM CEO Eve Kim , played by Greta Lee , to take down Julian and another rogue program named Athena , played by Jodie Turner-Smith . Ar...

Poster for 'Roofman.' Courtesy of Paramount Pictures and Miramax. Channing Tatum played Jeffrey Manchester, an ex-Army Reserve soldier and divorced dad who had a penchant for details and thieving. He was known as "The Roofman" for breaking into his targets by drilling into their roofs. It was like Tatum channeled Sam Dawson and Scott Lang into one as his character managed to find a way to sneak out of prison underneath a truck with skills from prison shop, then make a home in a corner in a 2004 Toys 'R Us.  It was pretty funny and amusing how Jeffrey sort of took control of the store after closing. How he snacked on M and M's, skated around on Heely-like shoes, he acted like a grown man with a kid's bedroom with inflatables and Spider-Man merchandise, and he kept security with baby monitors. It was also kind of funny how he made money out of stealing and pawning a bunch of video games. While trying to get out of the country after fleeing to the store, Jeff...

Photo courtesy of William Beavers. Hello, readers. In Dwayne Johnson's latest acting/producing work, he starred as former wrestler/mixed martial artist Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie's 'The Smashing Machine.' At first, I wasn't too impressed because of Kerr's hunger for victory and blood in the fighting ring. But as he recognized that drugs were messing up his life and he went in to rehab, I liked Kerr's characterization and Johnson's performance of him. I felt that Johnson and his character reminded me that fighters are human beings that want to do their best out of the ring. I also liked Emily Blunt's performance as Kerr's girlfriend Dawn Staples. Blunt gave emotional power in her character trying to reason with Kerr and make sure Kerr looks out for her own wellbeing. Though I could see it was not easy when there were times when they would argue and Kerr would snap their door in half in frustration. On the other hand, it was nice to see that they co...