It is well know that the Academy Awards overlook certain films. Nominations come out, frowns appear, and jaws can drop. After all, a lot of films come out every year. I’m talking about a thousand or so films. However, this year, the Academy of Arts and Sciences had some severe misses. Overlooking Bradley Cooper for … More Why John Krasinski’s ‘A Quiet Place’ deserved more respect from the Academy

Listen to three St. Louis film critics debate their picks for the Oscars … More The Reel Times Trio Podcast, Episode #1: 2019 Academy Awards edition

When Chris Miller and Philip Lord introduced The Lego Movie back in 2014, the imagery, pop culture humor, and overall entertainment factor hit a premium level. Stellar voice work from the likes Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman, and Will Ferrell contributed to the filmmakers’ vision and ability to transcend human morals and emotion inside … More Why ‘LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part’ was a disappointment

Actors get pigeonholed. It’s not made up or an exaggeration. When an actor thrives in a certain role or series of roles, audiences prefer him or her to stay in that lane of entertainment. For instance. When Michael Keaton was cast as Batman back in 1988, comic book fans hated it for two reasons. They … More Zac Efron as Ted Bundy? I’ll give it a shot and here’s why.

Have you ever had a protein shake? The concrete-tasting beverage aimed to fulfill a protein intake and fix you up for the evening while simultaneously torturing your food-loving soul is not something you particularly cherish. You consume it, and then begin to hate yourself, because you know it did the job without bringing you any … More ‘What Men Want’ is two hours you’ll never get back

Three bald guys have a problem and decide to punch it out. You could dish me that description of this summer’s Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, and I’d be happy. The two Fast & Furious exports, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw, are forced to team up when a … More ‘Hobbs & Shaw’ trailer promises the best kind of summer fun

It’s a common, if playful, thing for parents to threaten their kids with this line: “Be good or I’ll disown you.” What if the kid wanted to disown his parents? Welcome to the premise for Capernaum, the potent new foreign language feature from Nadine Labaki. A movie that waltzes into the darkest areas of humanity and … More Why ‘Capernaum’ should win the Best Foreign Language Oscar

In the land of elite assassins, you are never officially retired. Just ask John Wick. If one manages to survive the deadly life of contract killing, retirement only makes you easier to “take care of.” Except if your name is Duncan Vizla (Mads Mikkelson). In Jonas Akerlund’s (Lord of Chaos) Polar, released on Netflix last … More Action-packed ‘Polar’ is gloriously tongue-in-cheek with a terrific Mads Mikkelson