Chris Williams
@chrisicisms.bsky.social
Film critic at michigansportsandentertainment.com and Chrisicisms.substack.com. Member, Michigan Movie Critics Guild.
Thirty years ago, SPEED opened. It's still one of the greatest action movies ever made.
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BAD BOYS 4 -- it's fun!
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Review – Bad Boys: Ride or Die
Is there still gas in the tank, or should the Bad Boys hang up their cuffs?
chrisicisms.substack.com
Watching the BAD BOYS trilogy again is a bit of a roller coaster. One movie's a bit rocky. One's pretty good. One is a crime against humanity that has far more corpse desecration than you'd expect in these movies.
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I did not expect the fourth BAD BOYS movie to take such an explicit stand on the existence of the afterlife.
Ah yes, the fun family hijinks of a man who once cursed his 12-year-old daughter out over the phone and called her a rotten little pig.
Alec and Hilaria Baldwin Unveil TLC Family Reality Series for 2025
'The Baldwins' will feature the couple and their seven young children at home.
www.hollywoodreporter.comWho lives, who dies, who tows your Tesla
Hamilton would absolutely own a Cybertruck. Washington a Ford Lightning. James Madison a Tahoe.
I've been skeptical about christening Glen Powell the next big movie star. HIT MAN proved he's the real deal, and it's Linklater's best movie since BOYHOOD. chrisicisms.substack.com/p/review-hit...
Review: Hit Man
Glen Powell kills it in Richard Linklater’s fun, sexy, smart rom-com.
chrisicisms.substack.com
I'm no box office expert, so take these with a grain of salt. But I tried to think through why people aren't going to the movies lately.
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Why aren’t people going to the movies?
Are we witnessing the death of the theatrical experience?
chrisicisms.substack.com
I admire the craft of IN A VIOLENT NATURE more than I like the movie itself, but slasher fans should get a kick out of it.
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FURIOSA is not FURY ROAD...but what could be? It still works, albeit at a slightly lesser level.
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This movie makes some really weird choices.
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My son is old enough to have taken Human Growth two years in a row but still enough of an innocent kid to not understand why I burst out laughing when he mentioned that last year's teacher was Mr. Johnson.
If evangelicals paid more attention to Saved! than to God’s Not Dead, the dialogue about faith and culture might be a lot better off than it is.
chrisicisms.substack.com/p/review-sav...
'Saved!' was ahead of its time
Twenty years later, the satire veers uncomfortably close to documentary.
chrisicisms.substack.comIt doesn't bother me. I'll watch for 20-30 minutes at a time on lunch break or when I have some spare lazy time. YouTube saves my place. (The heresy might be that I watch at 1.5x speed).
This movie has only gotten better with age.
chrisicisms.substack.com/p/review-sav...
'Saved!' was ahead of its time
Twenty years later, the satire veers uncomfortably close to documentary.
chrisicisms.substack.comSome couples would rather take out secret personal ads about their fondness for pineapple cocktails than go to therapy.
I understand why we don't talk about Mel Gibson's filmography much anymore. But MAVERICK is a reminder of why he was such a watchable screen presence. It holds up so well.
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Summer of ‘94: Maverick
Richard Donner’s Western comedy holds up incredibly well.
chrisicisms.substack.com
Box office might be struggling, but quality-wise, summer is off to a strong start (and then I also talk about Jerry Seinfeld's Pop Tart movie).
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Summer movie season is here!
Catching up with ‘Planet of the Apes,’ ‘The Fall Guy’ and ‘Unfrosted’
chrisicisms.substack.comHappy birthday to one of the best films of 1999. chrisicisms.substack.com/p/review-ele...
‘Election’ at 25
Revisiting Alexander Payne's masterpiece and one of the best films of 1999.
chrisicisms.substack.comABIGAIL is a lot of fun from Radio Silence. I wish the marketing hadn't spoiled its big reveal, but that shouldn't hinder your enjoyment. chrisicisms.substack.com/p/review-abi...
Review: Abigail
The latest from Radio Silence is a bloody, fun time at the movies.
chrisicisms.substack.comTough one, but the older I get, the more convinced I am that it might be ELECTION.
I really wish there were more to CIVIL WAR than some striking images and visceral action scenes. I don't need an allegory on our current strife, but some sort of world-building or character depth to make me care about any of this. chrisicisms.substack.com/p/review-civ...
Review: Civil War
Alex Garland’s American war story is visceral but hollow.
chrisicisms.substack.com
Had some thoughts on the latest monster mash.
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Cranky, stupid, ‘Kong’
Latest monster mash is a big, dumb Saturday morning cartoon.
chrisicisms.substack.comWe've had GODZILLA MINUS ONE and GODZILLA X KONG, but I haven't heard anyone refer to this cinematic trend as the Monster Math.
I loved it the instant the credits rolled.
The next morning, I just really liked it.
I feel like another 30 minutes to better tell the story could have made it an all-timer.
I was similarly a bit ambivalent with BOYS STATE, but I've heard really good things about GIRLS STATE. I'll have to add this to my list.
MONKEY MAN is a helluva directorial debut from Dev Patel.
Review: Monkey Man
Dev Patel delivers a bruising and surprisingly soulful directorial debut.
chrisicisms.substack.comSaw MONKEY MAN last night. Hearing a lot of JOHN WICK comparisons -- and that movie is even namechecked here. I get it, but the action here is more reminiscent of THE RAID. It's brutal, messy, bloody and ugly. This is a compliment.
I hope you're right and that the EP credit isn't a "take the money and shut up" credit. Goddard is smart and I love his movies; I just worry about WB letting them run with a sequel that doesn't have the weird, sincere, messiness of the sequels.
The fact that they made a Matrix sequel where Neo never fires a gun and the entire theme is that love keeps the world standing is the kind of crazy, sincere, big swing we absolutely won't get from a Wachowski-less sequel.
Right. By the sequels, they weren't just sci-fi action movies. They were big, personal epics about philosophy, identity and the power of love. They are an absolute mess and I love them all.
For Good Friday, I revisited Denys Arcand's "Jesus of Montreal."
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Revisiting 'Jesus of Montreal'
A look back at Denys Arcand's pseudo Passion story.
chrisicisms.substack.comBig year, when you consider that The Lion King turns 30 in a few months.
I've often called "The Last Temptation of Christ" the most important film in my life -- not because it's my favorite but because it was the first one to make me realize that movies can be dangerous.
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The importance of dangerous art
'The Last Temptation of Christ' as a vital tool in my spiritual growth.
chrisicisms.substack.com
I had fun with GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE, a movie that corrects (some of) its predecessor's problems and is the rare Ghostbusters sequel to imagine actually building on the ideas of the first movie.
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Review — Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Bustin' makes me feel alright, I guess.
chrisicisms.substack.com
Happy 20th anniversary to Zack Snyder's good movie!
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‘Dawn of the Dead’ is still Zack Snyder’s best film
The remake no one asked for – but turned out pretty good – turns 20 today
chrisicisms.substack.com
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND has not changed in 20 years, but I sure have, and that makes it a fascinating revisit.
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It’s easy to forget how good ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ is
The Michel Gondry/Charlie Kaufman collaboration turns 20 this month
chrisicisms.substack.comThis week's newsletter talks Oscars, Jon Stewart, Larry David and more. chrisicisms.substack.com/p/oscars-opp...
Chrisicisms: An announcement, Oscars, Larry David and Jon Stewart
Some things on my mind this Friday.
chrisicisms.substack.comKUNG FU PANDA 4 is a perfectly fine kids' movie at a time when many kids movies are aiming to be more than fine.
REVIEW: ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ is fine, I guess
Po’s still big in the belly but the franchise is getting a little long in the tooth
chrisicisms.substack.com
DUNE: PART 2 is big, weird, bold and great.
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Hey, how you DUNE (Part II)?
Denis Villeneuve’s sequel is 2024’s first great film.
chrisicisms.substack.com
I watched "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" as a child with my parents one New Year's Eve. Realizing that the movie is now 35 years old makes me feel most decrepit.
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Is it encouraging or soul crushing that OFFICE SPACE is still just as relevant and funny 25 years after its release? chrisicisms.substack.com/p/office-spa...
‘Office Space’ still sadly, hilariously relevant at 25
We’re still being nagged about those TPS reports.
chrisicisms.substack.comGOD & COUNTRY is a solid primer to the problem of Christian Nationalism, and features some really helpful work from Russell Moore, David French, Phil Vischer and others. chrisicisms.substack.com/p/god-countr...
‘God & Country’ is a conversation-starter, but not the final word
Documentary examines Christian Nationalism.
chrisicisms.substack.com
THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE argues that teaching could be very fulfilling, if it weren't for the students, parents and fellow faculty.
michigansportsandentertainment.com/movie-review...
If HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS makes it to your town, take a chance to see it. This no-budget slapstick comedy is one of the most inventive and funniest films I've seen in a long while.
michigansportsandentertainment.com/movie-review...
Movie Review: Hundreds of Beavers - Michigan Sports And Entertainment
"Hundreds of Beavers" is a low-budget Looney Tune, and one of the most inspired and funny independent films to be released in several years.
michigansportsandentertainment.com
This one is reee-heeee-heee-heeeealllly bad.
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‘Ace Ventura: Pet Detective’ has aged like milk
Looking back at Jim Carrey’s first hit.
chrisicisms.substack.comARGYLLE has its moments, but it's also a mess that's a bit too pleased with itself. michigansportsandentertainment.com/movie-review...
Movie Review: Argylle - Michigan Sports And Entertainment
"Argylle" has some fun actions sequences and a game cast, but Matthew Vaughn's latest spy romp is too convoluted and self-pleased to fully work.
michigansportsandentertainment.comI'm fairly certain I'm setting myself up for disappointment, but I had a good time with this new GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE trailer. michigansportsandentertainment.com/ghostbusters...
‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ releases new trailer - Michigan Sports And Entertainment
A new trailer for "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" brings back some old haunts and suggests new comedic possibilities and supernatural shenanigans.
michigansportsandentertainment.com