Film critic

“Zootopia 2” delivers creativity, chemistry; falls short of original

December 4, 2025 Bob Garver

2016 was a great year for animation. Disney gave the world a new musical masterwork in “Moana.” Pixar had its biggest hit up to that point in “Finding Dory.” Even underdog Laika came out with […]

Charismatic cast, suspense makes third ‘Now You See Me’ worth it

November 23, 2025 Robert Garver

It was all the way back in 2013 that audiences were first introduced to the Four Horsemen of Magic — J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and Henley […]

‘Predator: Badlands’ delivers action, gore while honoring original

November 13, 2025 Bob Garver The Sun

“Predator” and I got off on the wrong foot. I’m not talking about the new movie but rather the 1987 original and, by extension, the whole franchise. I rented the film hoping to enjoy some […]

Visuals, soundtrack do more for audience than film in “Tron: Ares”

October 18, 2025 Bob Garver

The legacy of the “Tron” franchise is complicated. On a consistently positive note, the series has always been a feast for the eyes and ears, with pleasing, if not groundbreaking, special effects and musical scores […]

‘KPop Demon Hunters’ hits theaters, transforms into cultural phenomenon

August 31, 2025 Bob Garver

This past weekend’s biggest big-screen hit didn’t go straight to the big screen. Animated actioner “KPop Demon Hunters” premiered in June on Netflix, reportedly racking up more than 180 million views in its first eight weeks. A […]

‘Freakier Friday’ follow-up exhausts body-swap trope

August 25, 2025 Bob Garver

I remember being a big fan of the 1976 “Freaky Friday” with Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris. Granted, I saw it when I was young enough to not know the tropes of the body-swap comedy, […]

‘Superman’ reboot gives DC Universe promising new lift

July 21, 2025 Bob Garver

With Zack Snyder’s version of the DC Universe having officially fizzled out, Warner Bros. is trying a hard reboot of the multifaceted superhero franchise under the direction of James Gunn. First up for Gunn is […]

‘28 Years Later’ reanimates franchise

June 26, 2025 Bob Garver

It has been 23 years (not 28, somewhat frustratingly) since British audiences were first introduced to the mind-and-body-ravaging Rage virus in “28 Days Later.” The virus turned everyone it affected into zombies, known as The […]

Movie review: “Final Destination: Bloodlines”

June 16, 2025 Bob Garver

It’s hard to believe that we went over a decade without a new “Final Destination” movie. Fans love this series and its “slasher-movie-without-a-slasher” gimmick. The “killer” here is the concept of Death itself, which takes […]