Past the Popcorn: Affleck’s Live by Night Suffers from Too Many Crooks in Kitchen

by Jeff Walls Live by Night is a new gangster drama from writer/director Ben Affleck.  The movie is based on a book by Dennis Lehane, who also wrote the book that Affleck turned into his first directorial... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: Hidden Figures is the Real Deal for Oscar Consideration

by Jeff Walls As I pound away at this review, Academy members have already begun filling out their ballots for the Oscar nominations which are to be announced on January 24th.   As usual, the list of... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: La La Land is What Hollywood Should Give Us More Of

by Jeff Walls Writer/director Damien Chazelle was an unknown before he burst onto the scene two years ago with Whiplash, a tough, but thrilling drama about the challenges a young drummer must face to... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: Office Christmas Party is About as Much Fun as it Sounds

by Jeff Walls Most people who work in an office environment know about office holiday parties.  They are often fun, sometimes stressful, and every once in awhile they can be embarrassing.  After all,... [Read more]

REVIEW: The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) is a holiday gift within a gift

Review by John Van de Ven. The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged), is a holiday gift within a gift – or a pageant within a play. The premise of the play (written by Reed Martin) is a pageant featuring a number of acts…

Past the Popcorn: Moana is Disney’s Delightful Animated Ocean Getaway

by Jeff Walls The new Disney animated film Moana may just be the movie that finally proves once and for all that Dwayne Johnson can do anything.  The wrestler-turned-actor has done action well, he’s... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: Mel Gibson Wows Again with Bravura Hacksaw Ridge

by Jeff Walls Mel Gibson’s career as a director reached a high point in 1996 when the director took home both the directing and producing Oscars for just his second film, Braveheart.  He returned to... [Read more]

REVIEW: ‘The Toxic Avenger’ will truly entertain and the cast talent saves the day

Mayor of Tromaville Babs Belgoody dances on a desk surrounded by, from left to right, corrupt waste management executives (Rico Lastrapes and John Williams Lynch) and environmental nerd Melvin Ferd the... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: The Birth of a Nation Deserves All the Oscar-Bait Hype

by Jeff Walls Having already been much talked about on the film festival circuit and after taking home both the grand jury prize and the audience award at Sundance, Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: Marky Mark Hits All His Marks in Deepwater Horizon

by Jeff Walls In April 2010, the off-shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded, leaving oil gushing from an underwater well in the Gulf of Mexico for eighty-seven days.  It is considered to be the biggest... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: Oscar Bait is Not Enough to Make Light Between Oceans Shine

by Jeff Walls Based on the 2012 novel of the same name by M.L. Stedman, The Light Between Oceans is being adapted for the big screen by writer/director Derek Cianfrance, whose previous films Blue Valentine... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: Pete’s Dragon is a Different Movie, Not Just a Remake

by Jeff Walls Disney has no shortage of movies in their catalogue to remake and it appears as if they plan to go through them all.  The animated Jungle Book was given an update earlier this year and... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: Jason Bourne Is Back, But Is That Such a Good Thing?

by Jeff Walls The first film to introduce moviegoers to the character of Jason Bourne was 2002’s The Bourne Identity, directed by Doug Liman.  That movie was moderately entertaining, but the series... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: No, the Ghostbusters Reboot is NOT a Complete Travesty

by Jeff Walls The new reboot of Ghostbusters is the second movie this year to get totally trashed by Internet commenters prior to anyone actually seeing the movie.  Whereas Batman v Superman: Dawn of... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: Spielberg Finally Finds a Way to Film The BFG

by Jeff Walls Author Roald Dahl published his children’s novel The BFG in 1982, the same year filmmaker Steven Spielberg released his classic film E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.  Now thirty-four years... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: Disney and Pixar Get a Sequel Right with Finding Dory

by Jeff Walls Unless they star a toy cowboy and his space ranger pal, sequels to Pixar movies have been somewhat underwhelming.  Cars 2 and Monsters University were both moderately entertaining, but... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: Crowe Plays Straight Man to Gosling in The Nice Guys

by Jeff Walls Hollywood veteran Shane Black got his start writing the screenplays for the Lethal Weapon movies in the eighties and nineties before finally directing his first feature with 2005’s Kiss... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: Captain America: Civil War Is the One You’ve Been Waiting For

by Jeff Walls Earlier this summer, movie audiences were treated to a long-awaited superhero matchup with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a movie which felt a lot like a desperate attempt by Warner... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: Waterland Home Video Feature

The Millennials (TV) Review by Greg Wright Only rarely have I gotten a credit on a TV series, so I won’t be bashful about tooting my own horn, so to speak. This Thursday on Ovation (Comcast channel... [Read more]

Past the Popcorn: Keanu Features an Adorable Cat… But So Does Facebook

by Jeff Walls Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele have already had a success on the small screen with their sketch comedy show, but now that their television show has ended they have set their sights... [Read more]