Universal Pictures |

Movie Revue: "The Secret Life Of Pets 2"

The Secret Life of Pets 2 is a Vast Improvement

June 7, 2019 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

Max (Patton Oswalt), Duke (Eric Stonestreet), and Snowball (Kevin Hart) return to the big screen in Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s The Secret Life of Pets 2. Picking up some time after the first film, Max and Duke’s owner, Katie (Ellie Kemper), is married and has a new baby boy. Max instantly declares himself the child’s protector. When the family decides to take a vacation to the country, Max meets alpha dog Rooster (Harrison Ford) who helps Max discover his Read more

Movie Revue: "Ma"

Octavia Spencer is a Delightful Villain in Ma

June 3, 2019 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

Octavia Spencer reunited with her Get On Up and The Help director Tate Taylor in Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions’ horror thriller Ma. After a heartbreaking divorce, a single mom moves back to her hometown with her daughter Maggie (Diana Silvers). Maggie quickly making friends with the local bad girl Haley (McKaley Miller) and finds a new love interest, Andy (Corey Fogelmanis). After failed attempts at buying booze, Maggie’s friends convince Read more

Movie Review: The Hustle

The Hustle Lacks Comedic Precision

May 10, 2019 Cortland Jacoby Movie Reviews, Movies

Should remakes exist? Should gender-swapped remakes exist? Obviously, the answer should be yes, if the story is endearing enough and the new adaption would bring a new or unseen perspective to the source material. Most of the time, gender-swapped remakes are flipped from male to female, setting itself up for failure especially if the original is beloved (see 2016’s Ghostbusters). So if you are making a gender-swapped remake focusing on female characters, hopefully, that new adaption would be written and directed by women. Unfortunately, The Hustle is not any of those things and its lack of female perspective shows.

Movie Revue "Glass"

Despite a few cracks, Glass delivers the goods

January 20, 2019 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

Director M. Night Shyamalan closes out his Eastrail 177 trilogy with his latest film, Glass from Universal Pictures. Serving as a sequel to both 2016’s Split and 2000’s Unbreakable, Glass find David Dunn (Bruce Wills) utilizing his superhuman strength to fight crime using the alias, “The Overseer.” Meanwhile, in the two years since Split, Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) who has multiple personality disorder is continuing his evil deeds. When David learns that Kevin is holding a group of cheerleaders captive he springs into action. During the attempted rescue, David encounters “The Beast,” the most menacing of Kevin’s personalities.

Green Book Tries to Write a New Narrative About Race

November 16, 2018 Cortland Jacoby Movie Reviews, Movies

There is one every single year. Preying on the divisiveness of racial politics with the notion that we are more similar than we are different. The Oscar-bait race film is a delicate breed of manipulation, white guilt, and genuine feels. In past, these films do great at the Oscars but age rather poorly (see The Helpor The Blind Side). Tired tropes such as the white savior and the magical negro grace our screens and because race is such a tricky subject to navigate Read more

Movie Revue "The Grinch"

The Grinch is a Early Holiday Treat

November 10, 2018 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

From Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment comes The Grinch, the third screen adaptation of the 1957 classic Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The newest version is a 3D computer-animated version directed by Scott Mosier & Yarrow Cheney, with a script written by Michael LeSieur and Tommy Swerdlow.

Movie Revue "Johnny English Strikes Again"

The Spy Who Provides Laughs

October 26, 2018 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

Rowan Atkinson returns as the bumbling and inept spy Johnny English in Johnny English Strikes Again from Universal Pictures. The third entry in the franchise finds Johnny enjoying life as a geography teacher at an elite boarding school. However, Johnny actually spends most of his days training his students how to be spies.

Movie Revue "First Man"

First Man: A Unsuccessful Launch

October 13, 2018 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

Director Damien Chazelle directs Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong in First Man from Universal Pictures. Spanning a period of eight years, the film is the latest to tackle the space race. As opposed to making a fluff piece, screenwriter Josh Singer adapts James R Hansen’s official biography “First Man: The Life of Neil Armstrong”. From the moment the film starts, it is clear that director Chazelle and Singer want to humanize Armstrong.

Movie Review: The House with A Clock in Its Walls

The House with A Clock Needs Fine Tuning

September 22, 2018 Cortland Jacoby Movie Reviews, Movies

The House with a Clock in its Walls tries to be many things. Part nostalgic Amblin film, part horror adventure film, part kids’ movie, The House with a Clock in its Walls has so many tones that they often conflict with one another. However, lead performances and zappy one liners make the film bearable to watch.

Movie Revue "Skyscraper"

A SkyHigh Popcorn Flick

July 13, 2018 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

Dwayne Johnson reteams with Central Intelligence director Rawson Marshall Thurber in the exhilarating Skyscraper from Universal Pictures. As Skyscraper opens up, we are introduced to FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and U.S. war veteran Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson) on a routine mission. Things go wrong, which results in Will losing a portion of his leg. Ten years later, Will freelances as a security expert.