Freeze Frame

There are those who may think that Hollywood has given us way too many giant monster movies already. But I felt like a giddy kid at an old-time Saturday matinee when I saw “Kong: Skull Island.” This action-packed fantasy adventure employs eye-popping state of the art special effects to create believably scary creatures and an exotic environment. But, most importantly, establishes a sense of wonder and the feel of genuine peril.

 

A team of explorers, led by an obsessed John Goodman, travel to an uncharted island in 1973. He’s the only one who realizes the real dangers that lurk there. The terrific cast also includes Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson and Brie Larson. But John C. Reilly nearly steals the movie as a shell-shocked WWII veteran who miraculously survived for on the island 30 years.

 

But the real star is the movie’s titular colossus who protects the natives and his dangerous turf from a wild assortment of gigantic monsters. It’s violent enough to more than earn it’s PG-13 rating, but “Kong: Skull Island” is also funny and involving even if it’s script adds nothing new to the genre. I give this Kong four out of five giant bananas.

 

“The Ottoman Lieutenant” is the kind of sweeping historic romance that Hollywood seldom makes anymore. Unless they do it better than this, we may not see many more. During the early days of WW I, a Christian American nurse working at a rural hospital falls in love with a Muslim Turkish officer who is assigned to protect her. The lead actors have no chemistry or charisma and the horrors that transpired in this part of the world are mostly glossed over. Where are Julie Christie and Omar Sharif when we need them?

 

Also opening this week, “Kedi” is a documentary about the wild cats that inhabit the streets of Istanbul.

There are those who may think that Hollywood has given us way too many giant monster movies already. But I felt like a giddy kid at an old-time Saturday matinee when I saw “Kong: Skull Island.” This action-packed fantasy adventure employs eye-popping state of the art special effects to create believably scary creatures and an exotic environment. But, most importantly, establishes a sense of wonder and the feel of genuine peril.   A team of explorers, led by an obsessed John Goodman, travel to an uncharted island in 1973. He’s the only one who realizes the real dangers that lurk there. The terrific cast also includes Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson and Brie Larson. But John C. Reilly nearly steals the movie as a shell-shocked WWII veteran who miraculously survived for on the island 30 years.   But the real star is the movie’s titular colossus who protects the natives and his dangerous turf from a wild assortment of gigantic monsters. It’s violent enough to more than earn it’s PG-13 rating, but “Kong: Skull Island” is also funny and involving even if it’s script adds nothing new to the genre. I give this Kong four out of five giant bananas.…

In what is being touted as his final big-screen appearance as “Logan,” aka Wolverine, Hugh Jackman is back as a tired, aging and worn out mutant, a far cry from his glory days with X-Men. In the ultra-violent flick “Logan,” …

In what is being touted as his final big-screen appearance as “Logan,” aka Wolverine, Hugh Jackman is back as a tired, aging and worn out mutant, a far cry from his glory days with X-Men. In the ultra-violent flick “Logan,” he reluctantly protects a young girl who may be his daughter as well as the sickly Professor X, played by Patrick Stewart. This R-rated blood-fest has plenty of action and more depth than most superhero movies, but some may question the ethics of children participating in the sadistic carnage.   “The Salesman” is the winner of this year’s Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Asghar Farhadi’s intriguing suspense drama involves a couple that gets more than they bargained for when they move into a new apartment in the middle of Tehran. It’s intricately plotted, skillfully acted, realistic and heartbreaking. Once again, Farhadi demonstrates why he’s one of the world’s finest filmmakers.   An appealing cast and some amusing moments may not be quite enough to make “Table 19” worth a sit down. Anna Kendrick, Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson are among a group of misfits that get stuck together at the worst table at a wedding reception and find out…

Comic Jordan Peele of Key & Peele fame makes his directorial debut with a surprisingly effective, full-blooded horror film, “Get Out.” Daniel Kaluuya plays a young black photographer who goes to meet his white girlfriend’s parents in rural suburbia, where …

Comic Jordan Peele of Key & Peele fame makes his directorial debut with a surprisingly effective, full-blooded horror film, “Get Out.” Daniel Kaluuya plays a young black photographer who goes to meet his white girlfriend’s parents in rural suburbia, where things go horribly wrong. An effective social commentary as well as a potent creepfest, “Get Out” is this generation’s answer to “The Stepford Wives.”   David Oyelowo from "Selma" and Rosamund Pike from "Gone Girl" star in the true historical romance "A United Kingdom." Oyelowo plays the heir to the throne of Botswana who creates international chaos in 1947 when he takes a white, British wife, played by Pike. It’s a handsomely produced, beautifully acted and involving drama.   “I Am Not Your Negro” is a compelling and penetrating documentary about the late author James Baldwin and his perspective on three men he knew well: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, who were all assassinated. It’s a sobering, resonant and timely work.   “The Girl with All the Gifts” is yet another zombie apocalypse flick, but this one is particularly smart and effective. Glenn Close and Gemma Arterton lead the strong acting ensemble, but newcomer Sennia Nanua steals the…

Yet again, Hollywood mistakes vulgarity for wit. Charlie Day and Ice Cube star in “Fist Fight,” an R-rated comedy about a wimpy teacher challenged to an afterschool brawl by a testy fellow educator. This mean-spirited vehicle manages to pummel a …

Yet again, Hollywood mistakes vulgarity for wit. Charlie Day and Ice Cube star in “Fist Fight,” an R-rated comedy about a wimpy teacher challenged to an afterschool brawl by a testy fellow educator. This mean-spirited vehicle manages to pummel a few crass laughs from the audience, but it may make you want to punch the screenwriters.   Style over substance isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But in the case of the gothic horror flick “A Cure for Wellness,” the style chokes out any substance. Filmmaker Gore Verbinski, best known for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, allows the visual razzle-dazzle to overwhelm an interesting premise and a strong cast. Dane DeHann is a business executive who travels to a creepy health resort in the Swiss Alps to bring back his vacationing boss, but winds up a patient instead. Overlong and overblown, “A Cure for Wellness” is too dark to be campy fun.   “Toni Erdmann” is an Oscar-nominated black comedy from Germany about a man who creates a fake persona to worm his way back into the life of his estranged daughter, an ambitious corporate type. It’s brilliant in a number of ways, but its deliberate pace, considerable length and…

It’s sequel mania at theaters this week, and at least two of them live up to the originals.   Who would have thought that an animated movie about toy building blocks would have been a hit, let alone a brash, …

It’s sequel mania at theaters this week, and at least two of them live up to the originals.   Who would have thought that an animated movie about toy building blocks would have been a hit, let alone a brash, cheeky and fast moving…wait for it…blockbuster? But 2014’s “The Lego Movie” was just that.   In the sequel, “The Lego Batman Movie,” Will Arnett reprises his role as a narcissistic and self-centered caped crusader whose lonely life of crime fighting is upended when Robin and Batgirl help him face his greatest challenge from The Joker and a wide assortment of other bad guys. This goofy and colorful romp is sure a lot more fun than Ben Affleck’s version.   Keanu Reeves is back for more R-rated bloody mayhem in “John Wick: Chapter 2,” about a super assassin reluctantly drawn back into the business. The ultra violent action thriller exists for one reason, and that’s to allow some of the best stunt people in the world to expertly ply their trade. Inspired by Hong Kong action cinema, this zippy flick has it all, including car chases, hand-to-hand combat, gunplay and a slew of bad guys being dispatched by all manner of…