Erik M.

Ralph Breaks the Internet (Wreck-It Ralph 2) takes the terrific duo of the huge, lovable but emotional and clumsy lug Ralph and his tiny, hyper, smart-mouthed friend Vanellope and thrusts them both Online with often hilarious and perilous results! Disney Princesses, various Internet entities along with old and new faces come together to tell a story about friendship and change in this smart and sassy sequel! Fans of the original Wreck-It Ralph won't be disappointed, and neither will those who will recognize characters from Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar, as part of the fun remains spotting the cameos and keeping up with the gags! Terrific CGI animation, a good story and fun for the family make Ralph Breaks the Internet a worth successor to the original and will have you looking forward to where Ralph and Vanellope might go next! Race to see this one.

Erik M.

The Cabin in the Woods is a wild ride of a movie that celebrates-and criticizes-the horror genre, drawing inspiration from and poking gory fun at a multitude of films in a furious pace while telling the story of a group of young adults whose fun getaway becomes a slaughter as improbable things related to scientists monitoring the group torment them! If your idea of fun is to see parodies of horror and then watch everything run amok, this might be the film for you! Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and several Avengers films, among others) wrote and produced this dark comedy horror with enough restraint for it not to approach the silliness of the Scary Movie franchise while maintaining laughs and a grisly body count.

Erik M.

Soul Surfer plays like an extended Hallmark card-pretty, well-meaning, sweet but a touch overboard on trying to feel good. AnnaSophia Robb plays the plucky and lovely Bethanny, who lives to surf and is a rising star who loses one of her arms in a shark attack. She barely lets her sudden change of fortunes affect her, and her family provides strong support through her good times and challenging times. Therein lies a problem dramatically-she's so unflappable and Pollyanna-like at times that she comes across as less affected than she should be, and her family and friends seem almost underdeveloped and predictable, lending the movie a made-for-family-TV feel. Still, the story is heartening and positive overall, and might even inspire someone who has gone through serious setbacks to overcome them.

Erik M.

Arrival stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker in a movie about first contact with alien visitors whose sense of language and time are vastly different from our own. This is not an action movie but an exploration into communication, conflict resolution, hope vs fear and the possibility of meeting someone or something incredibly foreign in so many aspects as to cause change to perceptions themselves, like an epiphany. Amy Adams provides a compelling portrait of a Linguistics Professor who tries to bridge the vast divide between the aliens and humans via deciphering their unusual semi-circular symbols before tensions threaten to end contact and start a war between the species. While this film is not for everyone, it's a thought-provoking science fiction drama that challenges the viewer to consider the difficulties and dangers of language interpretation, the concept of non-linear time, intuition and premonition, and even the joy and pain of parenting.

Erik M.

Willard is a remake of the classic 1971 rat-ridden horror tale where a lonely recluse turns to organized and intelligent rodents to punish those many individuals who tormented him. Crispin Glover portrays the title victimized lead with both sympathy and creepiness, while the rest of the cast play out their roles with campy overacting to compliment the often comedic horror of rampaging vermin run amok! If you're squeamish about gore, rats and the idea of ravenous swarms of them, avoid this film! If you never saw the original-see this one for a combination of dark laughs and revenge.

Erik M.

The Girl with All the Gifts is a science fiction horror/thriller set in Britain about a fungoid infection that causes most of humanity to become mindless "hungries" though a second generation of the infected seem to become a hybrid version of the zombie-like beings, capable of rational thought. Melanie, a young girl the viewer meets inside a lab/school/prison, may be humanity's only hope for a vaccine...or the harbinger of its doom. She and a group of uninfected survivors escape a horde of the ravenous creatures that storm the facility and struggle to keep alive and ahead of the murderous pack while the fungus spreads and threatens the planet. Take 28 Days and mix with I Am Legend = this film. Fans of zombie horror, especially the more recent, agile and numerous type, might enjoy this, as well as anyone who pondered what might happen if children-even infants and pre-born-were to become monsters, along with everyone else. Not for everyone, and certainly not a feel-good film, but fairly good apocalyptic zombie-like horror story.

Erik M.

Mystic River brings together Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Lawrence Fishburne and Kevin Bacon in a story about a brutal murder in a small, seemingly quiet New England town. Former childhood friends are reunited as several events, including an abduction of one of them as a child and the suspicion of involvement in the current murder, drudge up details about a robberies, a child prostitution ring, old grudges and persisting nightmares. Dark, tense crime drama directed by Clint Eastwood. Finding Katie's killer might not bring her back, but seeing where the story leads will keep you riveted.

Erik M.

Solaris is a psychological Science Fiction film that explores existence, guilt, life, death, resurrection and how woefully unprepared humankind might be for alien contact. George Clooney plays a psychiatrist astronaut sent to find out what happened to a space station that is studying a world it orbits around. He discovers what's left of the crew after what appears to be strange murders and suicides. What follows is a painfully slow-moving tale where dreams mesh with memories and re-created individuals, including what appears to be the psychiatrist's dead wife, played by Natascha McElhone. Haunted by the circumstances surrounding their tumultuous relationship and her death, and struggling to comprehend what's happened and happening on the space station, the psychiatrist slowly spirals toward the planet psychologically and physically. Not for everyone, and actually not a space romance, it's more like big concept Science Fiction such as Contact or Arrival with disintegrating relationships and a opportunity at a second chance.

Erik M.

The Hunted is an action thriller that pits a highly-trained and deadly PTSD Covert Ops soldier vs his trainer who's trying to stop his killing spree in Oregon. Fast-paced, brutal fight sequences and chases keep the movie rolling along a breakneck speed while the search for the out-of-control soldier adds some drama and depth. Benicio Del Toro provides a somewhat sympathetic and lethal character while Tommy Lee Jones wades through as his grizzled, weary teacher who'd rather leave the killing behind. Good for action fans who like combat and chases, as well as those who enjoy those actors.

Erik M.

Woman in Gold is the story of an elderly woman's fight to get back paintings of her family's from a prestigious Austrian museum that were obtained during WW2 through the looting done by the Nazis. Dame Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds star in this documentary-drama that follows the wronged woman trying to resolve the situation while honoring the memory of her family, the Austrian people and those who suffered during the Holocaust while various powerful individuals fight any kind of restitution to the victims, herself or others. Powerful and heartfelt, well-acted, directed and shot, Woman in Gold should be viewed by anyone interested in WW2 and its aftermath, fans of the main actors, or someone looking for a good drama that's based upon real events.

Erik M.

Signs is a slow-boiling Science-Fiction Thriller that focuses on the Hess Family dealing with strange occurrences at their farm. First, unexplained crop circles appear, then their dogs become agitated, and finally they see what appear to be malevolent beings invade their property in the early stages of what might be an invasion. When more crop circles and other sightings begin to happen globally, the Hess family is forced to confront the menace on their own while already dealing with personal loss. Sometimes humorous to break up the mounting tension, Signs offers a story about faith, family, dealing with grief and standing together against adversity. Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin star as the besieged family. M. Night Shymalan also appears. One of Shymalan's better films for building suspense and being entertaining from start to finish.

Erik M.

Deepstar Six is an early underwater disaster horror movie that has a joint research team and military venture terrorized by a bizarre, aggressive creature that immediately craves human flesh! Making matters worse are a plethora of awful character decisions, poor dialog, bad acting and lackluster special effects even for 1989. Notable for Nia Peebles cast as a young scientist among the ill-fated team. For B-Movie fans mostly.

Erik M.

Smallfoot is the story of a clan of yeti who live an isolated life up on a Himalayan mountaintop blissfully unaware of the world around them until one day a member of their people comes across a human during an airplane accident. What follows is an adventure that brings humans and Yeti together despite misunderstandings, fear and prejudices regarding just who is a "monster." Funny, full of heart and positive messages about coming together, the value of integrity and challenging long-held beliefs in favor of greater understanding and exploring one's world.

Erik M.

A Dog's Life follows the story of a very loyal and lovable dog's spirit as it lives out various lives with its human and animal companions. Sometimes sweet, sad and poignant, A Dog's Purpose shows the ups and downs of his existence as well as human fortunes and misfortunes in a very relatable way. While it helps to be a pet lover-and particularly a dog lover-to enjoy the stories as told through it's eyes, there's something for everyone to appreciate in this fantasy/comedy/drama. Sensitive viewers might want to keep tissue within reach.

Erik M.

Reclaim stars Ryan Philippe, John Cusack and Rachel Lafevre in a tale of child exploitation and trafficking. A wealthy couple who recently settled a court case and survived a car accident attempt to adopt an orphaned Haitian girl in the aftermath of a terrible storm that devastated the island nation. The child, on what should have been a happy beginning of her new life and family, disappears, causing the couple to panic and seek help from the police and anyone else with being reunited. Suspicious strangers appear and start to cause further trouble as the couple learn the terrible truth about adoption scams and how pervasive and profitable they are. What follows next is a convoluted and improbable plot, car chases, villainous speeches and what could have been a tense crime mystery degenerating into an odd mash-up of action adventure cliques set in the Caribbean. The little girl is cute but poorly used as the object of the chases, and John Cusack's role as a kidnapper becomes too overdone. It's just an OK film that, in the last act, dives off a cliff into absurdity.

Erik M.

The Grey pits man vs. Cruel nature in this adventure thriller set in the unforgiving frozen wilderness of Alaska. When a plane crash leaves stranded a few surviving men, it's up to a bitter sniper-turned-wolf hunter for hire to lead them. Unfortunately, the wolf pack from hell unrelentingly stalks and kills them whenever the elements and their injuries fail to. Liam Neeson stars as the leader of the human pack who struggles to keep his own life going while attempting to protect those following him in their hopes to reach safety. The film is bleak, the characters mostly unlikable, and the wolves almost supernatural. This does not qualify as a feel-good film-it's closer to wilderness horror.

Erik M.

The Nun is a spin of from The Conjuring films with the premise that a monstrous evil was unleashed in Romania, contained by the Catholic Church, an Abbey build to defend against its escape and predation upon humanity, and the failure to do so. A suicide at the abbey brings the remote place and the danger of the evil to the attention of the Vatican and they send an exorcist to investigate. He teams up with a novitiate (nun in training) to confront the demonic power, and they are joined by a brave local. What follows for 3/4 of the film is a variety of scares such as being buried alive, possession, hallucinations, undead encounters and just about everything one can associate with overwhelming evil. It's OK for horror fans who are looking for a demonic possession film or a ghost story set in a religious setting, but there's little that you haven't seen before and done better.

Erik M.

Every Secret Thing is a 2014 crime drama/thriller that brings Diane Lane, Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Banks together that revolves around two scarred and damaged young women who, as children, were sent to juvenile detention until adulthood for the crime of kidnapping and death of a baby girl. A detective who worked on that case returns to investigate another incident of kidnapping with disturbing similarities and the evidence points back to the pair. What happened during the original incident and what's happening now are what the movie explores. Can another tragedy be averted and justice served in time?! I won't spoil it for you potential viewers-give the movie a look and see if you can solve the mystery.

Erik M.

Suffragette is a tough-to-bear historical drama about the struggle for woman to gain basic rights during the early movements occurring in Britain. The film follows a small group of downtrodden ladies who endure horrendous work conditions, physical and mental abuse, denigration and ostracism by the males in power over them as they at first peacefully-then increasingly more actively and violently-challenge the status quo until a sacrifice of one of their number brings worldwide attention to the plight. Actresses Carey Mulligan, Meryl Streep, and Helena Bonham Carter lead a great cast in bringing the period to life in a visceral way! Sets, costumes, good cinematography and writing go a long way towards making the movie memorable. While this might be considered in some circles a "chic flick", it's a human drama about the early Right's Movement. Watch with caution, but watch.

Erik M.

Cape Fear is a gritty early Martin Scorsese film where a lawyer who withheld evidence that could have helped his guilty client's case was purposefully withheld, leading to his conviction, long incarceration and hunger for cruel revenge against that lawyer and his family. Robert DeNiro presents a menacing, dangerous character who's also intelligent enough to have used his time in prison to fully immerse himself in the law so that he can better circumvent it later, while Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis star as the targeted lawyer and his wife and child who spend the film badgered by the rapist/murderer! It's a tense thriller that shouldn't be missed.

Erik M.