July 11, 2019

Crawl (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

July 11, 2019/ MSB Reviews

Directed by: Alexandre Aja

Written by: Michael Rasmussen, Shawn Rasmussen

Starring: Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper, Ross Anderson, Anson Boon, George Somner

Runtime: 87 min

Synopsis: When a massive hurricane hits her Florida hometown, Haley (Kaya Scodelario) ignores evacuation orders to search for her missing father, Dave (Barry Pepper). Finding him gravely injured in the crawl space of their family home, the two become trapped by quickly encroaching floodwaters. As time runs out to escape the strengthening storm, Haley and her father discover that the rising water level is the least of their fears.

July 04, 2019

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

July 04, 2019/ MSB Reviews

Directed by: Jon Watts

Written by: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers

Starring: Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, J. B. Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Martin Starr, Marisa Tomei, Jake Gyllenhaal

Runtime: 129 min

Synopsis: Our friendly neighborhood superhero decides to join his best friends Ned (Jacob Batalon), MJ (Zendaya), and the rest of the gang on a European vacation. However, Peter's (Tom Holland) plan to leave super heroics behind for a few weeks is quickly scrapped when he begrudgingly agrees to help Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) uncover the mystery of several elemental creature attacks, creating havoc across the continent!

June 27, 2019

Annabelle Comes Home (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

June 27, 2019/ MSB Reviews

Directed by: Gary Dauberman

Written by: Gary Dauberman

Starring: McKenna Grace, Madison Iseman, Katie Sarife, Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga

Runtime: 100 min

Synopsis: Determined to keep Annabelle from wreaking more havoc, demonologists Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) bring the possessed doll to the locked artifacts room in their home, placing her "safely" behind sacred glass and enlisting a priest's holy blessing. But an unholy night of horror awaits as Annabelle awakens the evil spirits in the room, who all set their sights on a new target: the Warrens' ten-year-old daughter, Judy (McKenna Grace), and her friends.

June 13, 2019

Brightburn (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

June 13, 2019/ MSB Reviews

Directed by: David Yarovesky

Written by: Brian Gunn, Mark Gunn

Starring: Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones, Meredith Hagner

Runtime: 91 min

Synopsis: What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister? This is the premise of Brightburn, which offers a different perspective on the superhero genre, in this case, of Superman’s origin story. Produced by James Gunn, written by his cousin (Mark) and brother (Brian), and directed by David Yarovesky, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Goth Ravager.

June 06, 2019

Dark Phoenix (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

June 06, 2019/ MSB Reviews

Directed by: Simon Kinberg

Written by: Simon Kinberg

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters, Jessica Chastain

Runtime: 114 min

Synopsis: This is the story of one of the X-Men’s most beloved characters, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), as she evolves into the iconic Dark Phoenix. During a life-threatening rescue mission in space, Jean is hit by a cosmic force that transforms her into one of the most powerful mutants of all. Wrestling with this increasingly unstable power as well as her own personal demons, Jean spirals out of control, tearing the X-Men family apart and threatening to destroy the very fabric of our planet. It is the culmination of 20 years of X-Men movies, as the family of mutants that we’ve come to know and love must face their most devastating enemy yet - one of their own.

May 30, 2019

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

May 30, 2019/ MSB Reviews

Directed by: Michael Dougherty

Written by: Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields

Starring: Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O'Shea Jackson Jr., David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe, Zhang Ziyi

Runtime: 132 min

Synopsis: The new story follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species - thought to be mere myths - rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance.

May 23, 2019

Aladdin (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

May 23, 2019/ MSB Reviews

Directed by: Guy Ritchie

Written by: John August, Guy Ritchie

Starring: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnussen

Runtime: 128 min

Synopsis: A street rat frees a genie from a lamp, granting all of his wishes and transforming himself into a charming prince in order to marry a beautiful princess. But soon, an evil sorcerer becomes hell-bent on securing the lamp for his own sinister purposes. This is Disney‘s 11th live-action remake of an original animated film and the 9th since the beginning of the new decade. Now, it’s time for the remake of Aladdin (1992)!

May 22, 2019

Aladdin (1992) - SPOILER-FREE Review

May 22, 2019/ MSB Reviews

Directed by: Ron Clements, John Musker

Written by: Ron Clements, John Musker, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio

Starring: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried, Douglas Seale

Runtime: 90 min

Synopsis: After a sultan (Douglas Seale) gives his daughter, Jasmine (Linda Larkin), three days to find a husband, she escapes the palace and encounters the street-savvy urchin Aladdin (Scott Weinger), who charms his way into her heart. While the sultan's Vizier, Jafar (Jonathan Freeman), weaves a spell so that he may marry Jasmine and become sultan himself, Aladdin discovers Genie's (Robin Williams) lamp in a cave, rubs it, and sets the mystical entity free, so beginning his quest to defeat Jafar and win the hand of the princess.

May 16, 2019

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

May 16, 2019/ MSB Reviews

Directed by: Chad Stahelski

Written by: Derek Kolstad, Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, Marc Abrams

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane

Runtime: 130 min

Synopsis: In this third installment of the adrenaline-fueled action franchise, super-assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) returns with a $14 million price tag on his head and an army of bounty-hunting killers on his trail. After killing a member of the shadowy international assassin's guild, the High Table, John Wick is excommunicado, but the world's most ruthless hit men and women await his every turn.

May 09, 2019

Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

May 09, 2019/ MSB Reviews

Directed by: Rob Letterman

Written by: Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, Rob Letterman, Derek Connolly

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chaparro, Chris Geere, Ken Watanabe, Bill Nighy

Runtime: 104 min

Synopsis: The story begins when ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son Tim (Justice Smith) to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry's former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds): a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth who is a puzzlement even to himself. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to communicate with one another, Tim and Pikachu join forces on a thrilling adventure to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together through the neon-lit streets of Ryme City - a sprawling, modern metropolis where humans and Pokémon live side by side in a hyper-realistic live-action world - they encounter a diverse cast of Pokémon characters and uncover a shocking plot that could destroy this peaceful co-existence and threaten the whole Pokémon universe.

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