Movie reviews of Don Shanahan

A plucked indie director, a strict critical darling heavyweight crossing the Pacific after decades to make his Hollywood debut, a raucous comedienne dialing it down, and a host of fresh faces, including a charismatic lead, came together to adapt a very non-household comic book property with all the winking wuxia love in the world. The result is a fully realized success. Review

Lurking with evil as piercing as the social commentary, there’s a summer popcorn movie being molded by these heavy and overarching messages. To pull such gravity off and still entertain is a hell of a slick punch coming from not-so-invisible phantasms. Review

The combined heroic and creative energy of this movie, and all involved in pushing it, cannot help but keep the hoots and hollers coming in a very steady, pixelated stream. Review

With brevity and profundity wholly rooted in the preciousness of life, Nine Days leaves its mark as one of the best films of 2021. Discover this unique and crushingly beautiful gem immediately. Review

Shucking the usual angst and doubt found in superhero movies, more characters than not love who they are and what they do. The very same commitment and lack of pussy-footing can readily be seen by the people making the movie. Top to bottom,The Suicide Squad gambled on love, going all-in for maximum pervasive fun. Review

Mulling over the complex totality of The Green Knight and how it portrays the 14th-century Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the befuddling result comes down, equally so for the main character’s quest, to choices. Review

Look, Jungle Cruise knows exactly what it is, much like the brand of comedy coming from Dwayne’s skipper that’s called out by Blunt’s pragmatic presence. The jokes are corny, the hijinks aim for hilarity, and the spectacle is large. Review

Even while adapting someone else’s work instead of shoveling his own dreck, Shyamalan has not improved. He takes another electric cocktail napkin concept and hammers it into the ground, well, sand this time instead of rain-filled potholes with forced overcomplication. Once again, his overused crutch of manufacturing twists cannot cover for him anymore. Review

Joe Bell deserved to be a catapulting performance for Reid Miller. His scenes immersed in pain and persecution are difficult, yet affecting in their empathy. It’s all too much about his father, even when those around Joe in the movie let him know that very fact. Review

Long Story Short is a phenomenal showcase for Rafe Spall. Review

Sure, as the usual counterargument always goes about the “journey” mattering more, this Marvel prequel feels like a tardy reward for what could have really been something special when the time was right and the fire was hot years ago. Review

More importantly and along the same lines as the ensemble, Allyn mined a solid example of history that eschews the overused and trumpeted white savior narratives that folks like Ken Loach rightfully besmirch. Review

This is horror and feels, without a hint of torturn porn or sadistic bloodlust in sight. What a visceral combination once again! Review

Strutting through much of Cruella as the true villainess of the picture, Emma Thompson’s callously evil Baroness declares at one point that “gorgeous and vicious” is her “favorite combination” of character traits. That great line and pairing is also a fitting description for the movie and its turbulent pendulum. Review

In the Heights is one of the best musical films of this young century. The vast talent on display in front of and behind the camera is beyond extraordinary in countless ways. This will be the movie, above any action-packed franchise entry, to lift our collective spirits this summer. Review

The Water Man breathes with the acuity of seeing people over spectacle. This chased bit of folklore and impermanence, and the miles it spans, was always meant to arrive right back to family and home where parents truly see their children and vice versa. Review

Now, gallows humor can be undoubtedly blunter than a rusty hammer. However, emanating from the twinkling grace of Billy Crystal, grabbing on to life’s vibrancy feels as special as it does comical with his guiding touch. Review

Quirks aside, Henry allows himself to play off of the surrounding people he encounters with warmth to grow where, by the end, this character didn’t just have a moment. He had himself a day. You will too with The Outside Story. Review

Without itchy trigger fingers to blow everything either up or out of proportion compared to, say, the Mission: Impossible series (and definitely the Fast & Furious entries), Without Remorse maintains enough intricate fibers of a spy movie to stay both intelligent and entertaining. Review

It passes tonal tests and achieves feats of action strength to renew and amplify the original zest powered by that inescapable theme song that evaporated from a bad sequel nearly 25 years ago. Bolstered by a commitment to build a mythology beyond the button-smashing combos, Mortal Kombat should ensnare new and old fans alike. Review

Take whatever allegories and metaphors you get from Voyagers. Either run with them or dismiss them. See which ones stick. In the end, Burger’s film may join the lists of movies with great concepts with poor execution. Review

Everyone’s clearly having fun but the “because I’m fun” lines aren’t enough this time. Once again, we’ve seen these “think before you act” and “don’t get carried away” manchild pleadings too much outside of superhero costumes to be duped into enjoying them just because they’re now clad in muscular leather and special effects. Review

In The Tunnel, there is a little bit of the “everything will go wrong” telegraphing going on that audiences will see coming. Equally so, overcompensating acts of heroism as a result do teeter close to melodrama. However, a fair balance is present. At the human level, the nerves and fears are equally shared by all, from the people in the thick of it to the sympathetic and hopeful bystanders who understand the gravity. Review

All of the shallow personality quirks, flimsy character motivations, and painfully absurd side plots spill all over and push away the majority of what people are coming to see. Once again, get out of the way and “let them fight.”... Review