Movie reviews of Don Shanahan

The gumshoe plot and increasingly terrible CGI effects unravel the film in a hurry after a breezy first half, but enough enjoyment is still easy to rescue. Review

Scott has assembled a top-shelf collection of artistic talent to expand upon the hellishly stunning level of designs and atmospheric creations from Prometheus. Review

A meal this rich shouldn’t be this empty. Review

A brazen explosion of Crayola-sheened special effects wonder mixed with invisible grays of magnetic character growth and depth. Review

Melodramas deserve lavish accoutrement and Love, Lies does not disappoint. Review

Dances with the analogies and symbolism to be found from eggs and aging to expiration in a uniquely literal and entirely charming way. Review

As preposterous as it really is, the intriguing topical parallels from Dave Eggers’s source novel are appealingly fascinating. Review

Feels ten years too late to make any resounding statement. Review

The humor is naturally vulgar and dark, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Review

Your jaw will never drop in any of those directions and you’ll only be moved to check your watch repeatedly. Review

Acidic with its dark humor and dialogue and stylishly appointed even when dirty and bloody... Review

The flaws come from the film’s effusive route of philosophy... Review

Peculiarity rules over spectacle with minimal loss of entertainment. Review

Has a point and makes it while still traversing humanity’s natural waters with its innate penchant for improvisation. Review

The importance was the stance of its message, and Webb kept it on point, earned the dramatic heft, and avoided full-on preaching. Review

Carries a nearly strict reliance on suggestion and atmosphere over exploitation. Review

The rest of the cast tune themselves to ultra-serious and sap away any possible zeal. Review

In stirringly entertaining fashion, each actor finds a way to surprise us with flashes of maturity, gumption, profundity, sentiment, and even flat-out heart. Review

The local flavor coming from the appreciable storytelling makes for a non-fiction film as chummy as the venue itself. Review

Plays to an almost self-aware level, which is fun. To the film’s credit, those results are occasionally uneven, yet never fully predictable. Review

Watson is courageous and just fine with her heroine work. Review

Dispenses with myth and lore and jumps to the mashing and clashing we all dreamt about since slamming plastic toys together as kids. Review

The totality of the scope, suspense, misdirection, and thrills make it an outstanding original success and raucous big-screen experience. Review

Incoming Call certainly and smartly will keep you watching, but it will leave you wanting more, not just clarity, but commitment. Review