Movie reviews of Don Shanahan

Admiring the semi-straight effort, bets could be made where this cookier version would play better than this soapy one and fit the comedy strengths of his director Andy Fickman. Review

To say Showing Up is watching paint dry or, in the case, clay dry is far too mean. Quiet is one thing and introspective is another. Do you relish the glacial anticipation and personal payoff of creative culmination or are you just showing up to the art show at the end, as characters do here, for the wine and cheese. Review

Mamma Mafia wastes two of the best female actors of their generation. Review

The narrative scaffolding around Carl Nargle in Paint is terribly flimsy. Not a cog in the story fits his antiquated dimensions, and it shows. Review

Those curious and poised to watch composures rattled, zingers exchanged, balls busted, and dreams fulfilled get all that and then some in Air. Review

Banner and Sedgwick dangle and then decidedly choose a bumpy climactic path, putting us right back to curiosity versus anxiety. Correcting either for a wayward soul or two exceeds this movie’s reach. Review

Egerton’s charm turns what could have been a semi-lame biopic into an R-rated, borderline caper film of corporate espionage circling dire Cold War consequences. Review

Much can be complimented in those crisply stylish attempts at big ideas and even bigger questions. Yet, it is hard to fathom the so-called infinite as having something missing, but a penetrative punch is absent. Review

Boston Strangler, for better or worse, needed more of its ominous titular villain. Those looking for a more forensic treatment of this historical hullabaloo will not find that satisfaction here. Yet, there’s more than enough respectful polish and attempts at prestige in Boston Strangler to stand out slightly above the pile of repetitive television entries. Review

Without spoiling, Colin West is shrouding a doozy of heart-punch with Linoleum. Review

The overall filthy, guilty pleasure sustenance of Cocaine Bear circles reflection back again to the effects of the titular drug. Review

In two sharply-composed hours willing to embrace that kind of empathy, Michael B. Jordan and his collaborators offer welcome and compelling depth to go along with the satiation for fisticuffs that fit the humble origins and comfort zones of this now two-pronged franchise that began nearly a half-century ago. Review

While intellectually satisfying to a degree, headiness cannot be its sole peak of moral damage. For peril’s sake, you have to let a little, or even a substantial, bit of your mounting suspense go ahead and detonate. Review

Somehow, even Rudd’s sterling Everyman charisma is smudged and dulled by the parade of green screen mattes and surrounding creature created by the VFX team... Review

Some purists or historians may call all of this speculative historical fiction in Emily hogwash, but they would be discounting those very moods, combined with Bronte’s strict upbringing as a marginalized woman. Review

Mature and malicious while skirting the line with a dash of kink, movies like Sharper don’t get made enough nowadays. Enjoy its casual boldness. Review

Home, per se, might be the most common setting in cinema and storytelling, but each place’s unique attitudes, connections, and people make them fascinating little worlds to examine and compare with our own. We’ve got a decent one here with Somebody I Used to Know. Review

While Maybe I Do is in the right heartfelt place to discuss the value of marriage and how children don’t have to turn out like their parents, there is a colossal amount of “practice what you preach” missing to make it tangible. Review

Barris and Hill missed creating a truly bold example for this current climate and stayed safe within glamor and predictability. There was room to present cultures and hearts matching in loving unison better than this. Review

When You Finish Saving the World stops right when an interesting alignment of merits could possibly begin. That ambiguous final moment of discovered courage and acceptance ends the journey at the point it should have begun. Review

Mary Nighy and Alanna Francis took on a more unique challenge to expose the coercive side that lacks tawdry bloodshed. Their result hurts plenty in its own right and succeeds to seek higher healing. Review

All the drama and comedy swirling together in Forster’s film empties into Tom Hanks. On different shoulders, A Man Called Otto is pure cinematic molasses, but Hanks is a sentimental soothsayer overcoming irony and doubt. Review

You would be hard-pressed to find a more rousing and rollicking movie experience this year or many others. Again and again, this is something truly passionate and special. Review

We have a mirthful movie that dares to dangle introspective yarn balls of fear, mortality, trust, friendship, and more towards our devil-may-care feline and the movie’s eager audience. Review