Tag: Movie Review

‘Zola’ runs 90 minutes, which is too long to be stuck in this on-screen weekend

Jeff Mitchell

“Zola” – “You want to hear a story about how me and this bitch fell out?  It’s kind of long, but it’s full of suspense.” – Zola (Taylour Paige) This cinematic tale – “Zola”, directed by Janicza Bravo – is based on a real-life 2015 Twitter post by A’Ziah Zola Wells, but this wasn’t an ordinary mention about her birthday, an adorable pet video, or a delicious meal photo.  This 20-year-old delivered a mindboggling-long social media post that totaled 148 connected Tweets, and it detailed her dubious weekend with a…

‘F9: The Fast Saga’: The series jumps the shark (again) and something much bigger in the 3rd act

Jeff Mitchell

“F9: The Fast Saga” (2021) – Saga is the right word when describing “The Fast and the Furious” series.  Director Justin Lin’s “F9: The Fast Saga” is actually the 10th film if you include “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” (2019).  Ten films dating back to 2001 is quite the cinematic run, and by comparison, Hollywood released six James Bond, seven “Star Wars”, and four “Star Trek” movies over the same period.  Thankfully, only one “Cats” film reached theatres, but I digress. According to BoxOfficeMojo, these films have raked…

Hayek, Jackson, and Reynolds can’t save ‘The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard’

Jeff Mitchell

“The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” – Salma Hayek, Ryan Reynolds, and Samuel L. Jackson are three of the biggest movie stars working today, and hey, all three are big-screen comic book characters, to boot.  Don’t forget that Jackson played a Jedi too. So, after assessing their remarkable acting resumes, let’s all recite this together:  “We’re not worthy!  We’re not worthy!” Well, in 2017, this superhero triad starred in the sophomoric action-comedy “The Hitman’s Bodyguard”, and when a film rakes in 176 million dollars worldwide on a budget of “only” 30 big…