Author: Derrick Murray

“Across the Spider-Verse” sets a new precedent for what animation can do. It is the pinnacle of modern technical mastery.

“The Boogeyman”  is a middling horror film that struggles to balance the effective atmospheric haunts with muddled horror cliches, leaving it unable to mask its obvious trauma allegories and maintain consistent horror intrigue that feels on the cusp of delivering but falls short.

“Wrath of Becky” injects a healthy dose of humor amidst its gruesome slaughter-fest, and though it struggles at times to sustain its simplicity, it has enough to be an entertaining follow up and intrigue in the sequel it wants to make next.

You Hurt My Feelings” may be the funniest, smartest film of the year so far, and Holofcener’s terrific script paired with her patient direction helps solidify this kind of high praise.

I’m not quite sure what to make of Gerard Butler at this point. I can’t decide if he’s just really cheap to cast, or doesn’t read scripts and shows up on set as soon as the phone rings. I’m all down for the b-movie action star. Hell, Steven Seagal made an entire career of these straight to video type films. The difference is, whether Seagal knows it or not, a vast majority of his filmography is well aware of the shlock factors. Butler and the projects he chooses all seem to miss this pivotal mark, aiming to add levels of…

The Little Mermaid” does little warrant its purpose or necessity, bogged down by its abysmal underwater CGI and inescapable desperation to be newly relevant

“Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” turns out to be worth the wait in gold. This is as good as movies get, and it just may make the case for being one of the best films of the year.

“The Covenant” is an effective albeit formulaic war action film that delivers the thrills and action, with a story that feels meaningful and compelling and overall thrilling ride you’ll find hard to turn off once it starts.

“Fast X” takes a step back to go forward, drawing from the insanity and over the top energy of Jason Momoa to deliver a fun, bombastic, ridiculously silly but enjoyable one last ride

The irony of the second chance celebrity power couple Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck releasing films on the same day is not lost on me. That irony is too good to pass up on the opportunity to do my first every double feature review. This seems pretty appropriate for the Bennifer movie weekend takeover. Not just because of the power couple’s singular release date, but because both films are bad for similar reasons. “The Mother” is a Netflix release that feels right at home among the abundance of middling action films, while “Hypnotic” is an ill advised theatrical release that…