Review: How to Train Your Dragon 3 – The Hidden World

So Dreamworks flagship goes the way of trilogy of Godfather, Robocop, and Back to the Future… where the third entry is definitely the weakest. When a new threat to their pet dragons emerges, the vikings of Berk need to consider finding a new home. Meanwhile, love is in the air when Toothless meets a Lightfury….

Review: Green Book

A story about the bonding of two very different souls. Captivating and greatly entertaining. When a classical pianist looks to tour around the deep south of America, he hires Tony Lip, an Italian American brawler with very low opinions on minorities. When Tony discovers his fare is an extremely rich African American man, he realizes…

Review: Alita – Battle Angel

A lot of great design work and a surprisingly strong lead performance, Alita is only somewhat forgettable in its action-heavy pacing. It is the 26th century, and the world is not as it was: much of the land is desolate wasteland, and cities are mostly rusting and over-populated with a cybernetically enhanced populous. High above,…

Review: The Lego Movie 2

Everything is average, everything is lame when it feels unnecessary. Following from the closing moments of the first film, the constructed heroes do battle against the cutesy forces from the Sis-star System, and only grisly determination can overcome the cuteness. Warning: this review contains overblown praise for the first Lego Movie. This film is a…

Review: Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Full of “caustic wit”, this is a McCarthy comedy I can get behind. Lee Israel is a struggling writer living in New York, with her rent three months overdo, her cat being sick, and her publisher wanting nothing to do with her, she turns to a life of fraud to make ends meet. It is…

Review: Fyre

A great example of how easy it is to trick the internet culture of today, but also how stupid or deceitful those in charge can be. A Netflix documentary following the disastrous Fyre festival of 2017, a tropical island escape where party-goers could mix it up with supermodels and music stars. Only due to colossal…

Review: Vice

Who would have thought the director of Anchorman would go on to direct not one (The Big Short) but two incredibly thorough and consumable dives into the worst of American politics. This true story follows the life of the Washington DC Vice President of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and his secretive dealings that escalated…

Review: Mary Queen of Scots

A grim and accurate telling of the two Queens vying for control over Great Britain. During the 1500s, young Mary Stuart returned to her homeland of Scotland from France, and being Queen of Scotland she also had claim to the throne of England as well, should she have an heir. But matters become worse as…

Review: Stan & Ollie

A very simple yet sentimental movie, about growing old and still enjoying what you do. Set between the 1930s and 1950s, the film follows the famous comedy double act as they enter their winter years. Coping with their incredible fame shrinking as the world moves on, and manage the complexities of career and personal lives….

Best and Worst of 2018

Even before this year began, I had my doubts about the film line up. There were a lot of franchises I didn’t care about, a lot of unknowns, and a lot of straight up bad films. This year has been quite intense for me personally also, which didn’t make things any easier for Cinema Cocoa….