Year: 2017

Too many storylines, not enough Minions in ‘Despicable Me 3’

Jeff Mitchell

“Despicable Me 3” – When thinking about the “Despicable Me” series, what is the first image that pops into your mind?   Minions, right? Those pintsized, yellow, pill-shaped, lovable devils have caused hilarious havoc in three previous animated adventures, including their own film, “Minions” (2015).   As entertaining as this collection of miscreants can be, Minions are best served in small, steady and frequent doses.  The best film in the series is the second one (2013), in which they were wholly integral to the main narrative but did not dominate the story. …

Welcome to ‘Baby Driver’, the most entertaining movie of the year…by a mile

Jeff Mitchell

“Baby Driver” – During the 1970s and 1980s, millions of boys grew up watching hundreds and hundreds of staged car chases on television shows like “Starsky & Hutch” and “The Dukes of Hazzard”, and include me in this motley group.  Pristine minds – void of any personal experiences of burning rubber and squealing tires – can certainly become mesmerized, when two Southern California police detectives and two Georgia locals man their four-wheeled chariots on tracks of asphalt and dirt, respectively and in the process, outwit their adversaries. Over time, however,…

Five wonderful, lead female performances on Netflix

Jeff Mitchell

Netflix provides a truly remarkable convenience to its millions of subscribers, with thousands of movie choices available at a simple click of a button.  At the same time, so many film possibilities can create a conundrum:  Which movie to choose?   When an evening hinges on the quality of your movie experience, it is not a decision to be taken lightly. Art House Film Wire searched through hundreds of movies and found scores and scores of terrific films.  There are lots of movies with wonderful female performances, but here are five. Judy…