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THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD Director: Patrick Hughes Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Salma Hayek, Elodie Yung “Why are we always yelling?” This is a quote from Ryan Reynolds to Samuel L. Jackson’s character late in the movie. This pretty much sums up the entire movie. If you’re familiar with the roles Reynolds and Jackson are known for, that’s essentially what you get here with two hours of yelling. They make up the title pair with Jackson playing Darius Kincaid, a well-known hitman who has been sentenced to life behind bars. He becomes an important player in the trial of Belarus leader Vladislav DukhovichRead More →

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ALL THINGS STREAMING I have two more episodes of my podcast “All Things Streaming” up on the PodcastOne Network. I have your marching orders to prep for the Emmy Awards and hopefully provide some more answer on Twin Peaks. Episode 10: The Emmy Nominations The nominations for the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards were just announced, and host Paul McGuire Grimes is here with all the buzz. Paul gives his initial thoughts on how streaming services played out compared to broadcast networks. Plus, he gives his first predictions of who will away the big winner in all of major categories. Who will win “Feud: Bette andRead More →

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IN CONVERSATION: THE FILMMAKERS BEHIND “AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL” with Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk In 2006, Vice President Al Gore made the documentary An Inconvenient Truth to shed light on the issue of global warming and the climate crisis at hand. It has been the major focus of his career since leaving politics. It led to the Oscar for Best Documentary and has now spawned a follow up film looking at the work he has done, what we’ve accomplished, and what it all could mean with a Trump presidency. I had the chance to see the film and sit down with the filmmakers, Bonni CohenRead More →

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ANNABELLE: CREATION Director: David F. Sandberg Starring: Talitha Bateman, Anthony LaPaglia, Stephanie Sigman, Miranda Otto, Lulu Wilson, Samara Lee We were first introduced to the Annabelle doll in 2013’s The Conjuring. It was the demonic doll that the Warrens kept under lock and key in their room full of artifacts. That prop was popular enough to get its own spinoff movie in 2015. We’re now getting the sequel to that movie which is actually a prequel dating back to the origins of its horror. Samuel Mullins (LaPaglia) is known throughout his little village for being a toymaker. He creates customized and sought after pieces includingRead More →

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MARLON BRANDO: METHOD MAN There’s no denying the legacy and talent that Marlon Brando brought to the stage and screen. He’s often thought of as the epitome of method acting. The Heights Theater will be showcasing four of his finest performances in their upcoming series “Marlon Brando: Method Man” He won two Oscars in his career for On the Waterfront and The Godfather. Check out the whole lineup below. Thursday, August 10: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) 35mm presentation courtesy of Warner Bros. $10, 7:30pm Thursday, August 17: ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) 35mm presentation courtesy of Sony. $10, 7:30pm Thursday, August 24: APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)Read More →

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ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE CINEMA IS COMING TO MINNESOTA – YOU BETCHA! If you heard a loud thunderous applause earlier today then you heard the sound of Minnesota cinephiles cheering at the news that we will be getting an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Buzz has been spreading for years now to get the Texas-based company to open a Minnesota location. The time has arrived as Woodbury will be home to the nine screen theater opening Summer 2018 on a 330,000 square foot lot in the Woodbury Lakes area of the city. Hordes of moviegoers will no doubt flock to it for its unique business model. They pride themselvesRead More →

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DETROIT Director: Kathryn Bigelow Starring: Will Poulter, John Boyega, Anthony Mackie, Algee Smith, Jacob Latimore, Jason Mitchell, Jack Reynor, John Krasinski, Ben O’Toole I never walk into a Kathryn Bigelow film thinking it’s time to sit back, relax, and mindlessly take in entertainment. The Oscar winning director of The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty isn’t interested in making those kinds of popcorn movies. Instead, she takes you inside a modern day headline hoping to get you thinking and talking about an issue affecting society. In Detroit, she goes back to the race riots in Detroit during July 1967. The movie starts with members ofRead More →

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THE DARK TOWER Director: Nikolaj Arcel Starring: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor, Dennis Haysbert, Fran Kranz, Jackie Earle Haley It was hard for me to not go into The Dark Tower with a little bit of bias. I consider myself a lifelong and devoted fan of Stephen King, yet this eight book series isn’t as deep in my DNA like some of his other works. I’m currently in the middle of reading the series for the first time. It’s an immensely rich universe that asks a lot out of its readers, but the end product is so rewarding. I say this all as aRead More →

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ATOMIC BLONDE Director: David Leitch Starring: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Toby Jones, Sofia Boutella, Bill Skarsgård, Sam Hargrave It seems like Charlize Theron is the go-to actress for any high intensity action flick. She’s one of the names people like to throw out in the Twitterverse for the ideal first female James Bond thanks to her roles in films like Mad Max Fury Road, The Fate of the Furious, and now Atomic Blonde. It’s November 1989 in Berlin. The Cold War is in full swing and the Berlin Wall still separates the city. Theron stars in the title role as MI-6 agent LorraineRead More →

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DUNKIRK Writer/Director: Christopher Nolan Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh, Harry Styles, Jack Lowden Dunkirk is yet another example of how Christopher Nolan can masterfully tackle any genre. Over the past decade, we’ve seen him go through space and time continuums with Interstellar, a superhero saga with The Dark Knight Trilogy, and dive deep into our dreams and subconscious with Inception. All of his films tell vastly different stories, yet are unmistakably his movies. With Dunkirk, he turns to the harrowing World War II battle in France between the Allies and the Germans. The British and French armies have beenRead More →