The Cinematic Review-verse

Meghann Fahy as Violet Gates and Brendan Sklenar as Henry Campbell in "Drop." Courtesy of Universal Pictures. The last time I saw Meghann Fahy was when she was the mother in "The Unbreakable Boy." On Wednesday, I saw her in a vulnerable and headstrong combination in her leading role in "Drop", directed by "Heart Eyes" producer Christopher Landon. Because I'm still new at watching suspense films, I didn't think highly of the film until it bypassed the "awkward first date" story between Fahy and Brandon Sklenar's characters and transitioned to the action towards the climax. Besides that, the good parts of the film were the camera work and the scoring by Bear McCreary, which sounded reminiscent of the scoring from "Jaws." Fahy played a widowed therapist mother in Chicago named Violet Gates who went on her first date in years with a photographer named Henry Campbell, played by Brandon Sklenar. As if her nerves about a ...

On Saturday morning, September 14, 2024, I had the funny, chilling, and thrilling pleasure of watching James McAvoy steal the show in the latest Blumhouse production, Speak No Evil . McAvoy began as an uninhibited hipster, then brought out his inner monster on the family led by Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy . Then Davis and McNairy brought the thunder in protecting their kids similar to Fox's The Gifted  TV series, and let’s just say it’s awesome that both the adults and their kids went toe-to-toe with James McAvoy. James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi as Paddy and Ciara in 'Speak No Evil.' Courtesy of Universal Pictures. While on vacation in Italy, the Dalton family, consisting of Louise, Ben, and their daughter Agnes, played by Davis, McNairy, and Alix West Lefler , respectively, met Paddy, Ciara, and their son Ant, played by McAvoy, Aisling Franciosi , and Dan Hough . The interaction went well, despite the Dalton parents being put off by Paddy's unhinged friendly ...

Gru, voiced by Steve Carell, is back in 'Despicable Me 4'. Courtesy of Universal Pictures. On Friday, July 5, I watched Universal and Illumination's latest work, 'Despicable Me 4.' I felt like they were returning to the original film's roots with Gru, voiced by Steve Carell, being superbad and a super dad, along with cool original songs from Pharrell Williams, clever voice acting and characters, and humor and action that reminded me of 'The Incredibles' with slapstick. In this sequel, Gru is back in the Anti-Villain League and must contend with a villain without sea creatures, mutation serums, or a keytar. That villain was Maxime Le Male, voiced by Will Ferrell, a primadonna rival who plans to conquer the world with cockroaches. Gru must protect his wife Lucy, voiced by Kristen Wiig, daughters Margo, Edith, and Agnes, voiced by Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Madison Polan, respectively, and newborn son, Gru, Jr, voiced by Tara Strong. And of course, t...

  Good morning, people.  On Thursday, May 16, I saw 'The Fall Guy' starring Ryan Gosling (also a producer) and Emily Blunt. Based on a show from the early 1980s starring Lee Majors, Gosling played Colt Seavers, a stuntman. Though he had a tough injury that put his job on hold, he got back, but here's the twist: While covering for an actor played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Colt accidentally gets mixed up with some of the actor's enemies and ends up on a 'Central Intelligence' type adventure around Australia. If that's not enough, he's got to patch up some broken romance with Emily Blunt's character, Jody. Jody has more drama than that with a major directorial film debut job and an overbearing producer, played by Hannah Waddingham, pressuring her to make a hit. The excellent parts came when Gosling's fight scenes reminded me of 'Central Intelligence', 'Scott Pilgrim', and 'Fast and the Furious'. Not only that, I enjoyed how th...

Photo Courtesy of William Edward Beavers, V Over 5 years ago, there were a group of actresses who teamed up to put on the best female acapella performance film has ever seen. Well, the cast and crew of Pitch Perfect 3 poured their hearts out for the trilogy to finish its run in a grand way. After most of the group graduated from college, Beca (Anna Kendrick), Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), and the rest of the Barden Bellas decide to come together for one last performance, contending with other musical groups, at a USO (United States Organizations) tour. I think this is one for the records for Universal Studios. It was a bit dejecting to see that the franchise had to go soon. But, it was more uplifting when I witnessed the ladies finish what they started the best way how: together. With great new cast additions, whimsical moments of jokes and/or insults towards competition, and well-rehearsed covering of classic songs, Britney Spears' "Toxic", for example, it was an overa...

Photo Courtesy of imdb.com Despicable Me 3 was  another well-intended feat by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment. Gru (Steve Carell) goes up against Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker, Co creator of South Park), while taking the family to reconcile with his long-lost twin brother, Dru (also Carell). Let's also not forget the amusing power of the Minions. Combining computer animation with a heartwarming image of family, action, and comedy, and popular music by the respected Pharrell Williams, this movie shows that the cast and crew of Despicable Me have not lost their touch and keep making things laughable. I would completely recommend this film.