Who can creep out viewers? The “Candyman” can. Twenty-nine years after the scare-fest “Candyman” dared viewers to “Say my name,” a woke sequel slithers into theaters. This time out, “Candyman” has some social context to go along with the chills, skewering gentrification along with a heap of human bodies. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays a painter […]

Maggie Q plays a super-skillful assassin out for revenge in the slick and sleazy action flick. “The Protégé.” Samuel L. Jackson does his usual thing as Maggie’s hired-killer mentor and Michael Keaton goes against type as Maggie’s nasty nemesis. There’s plenty of bloody mayhem under the workmanlike direction of Martin Campbell who cut his teeth […]

The star of “Deadpool” and the director of “Night at the Museum” team up and the results are just what you’d expect. “Free Guy” is a visually elaborate comic fantasy with a snarky PG-13 edge. Ryan Reynolds plays a background character in a violent video game who doesn’t know he isn’t real. Things get tricky […]

“The Suicide Squad” is a reboot and reimagining of the disappointing 2016 DC Comics movie “Suicide Squad,” about super villains manipulated into serving a shady government agency. Writer/director James Gunn of “Guardians of the Galaxy” fame gives this decadent R-rated action flick a wacky, comedic grindhouse edge. Some of the stars from the first film […]

Turning a theme park ride into a movie worked box office wonders for Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The Mouse House employs the same template with “Jungle Cruise.” Duane Johnson and Emily Blunt bring plenty of personal charisma to their roles of a charming Amazon boat captain and a spunky English explorer. It’s too bad […]

Have you ever felt like you’ve aged while watching a movie? That’s the feeling you’ll get if you decide to endure the latest eerie experiment from M. Knight Shyamalan, “Old.” A family goes on a vacation to an island resort only to realize that a strange beach causes them to age a lifetime in a […]

The unconventional career of Oscar-winner Nicholas Cage just got a bit more offbeat.. He gives a brilliant, nuanced performance in his latest film, the eccentric comic drama “Pig.” Cage plays a hermit living in the Oregon woods who goes on a bizarre adventure in an attempt to retrieve his stolen truffle-sniffing pig. Writer/director Michael Sarnoski […]

“Black Widow,” The latest extravaganza from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, plays more like an over-the-top spy movie along the lines of James Bond than a superhero adventure. Scarlett Johansson stars in this action-packed movie that takes place sometime between the events of “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” If you don’t follow the […]

Take one part “Terminator” and two parts “Alien,” shake with big budget vigor and you might come up with something like “The Tomorrow War.” Chris Pratt stars in this action-packed sci-fi extravaganza about people transported into the future to save humanity from an extraterrestrial invasion. The trappings are familiar, but “The Tomorrow War” is a […]

In a scene from the latest in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, “F9,” a character played by Ludacris aptly says, “Nobody’s gonna believe this!” Exactly. Entries in the 20-year-old 10-film franchise have morphed into preposterous over-the-top action fantasies that make “Transformers” movies seem credible by comparison. The script is awful, but you can still enjoy […]