By Justin Lozada After 22 years and over the course of five films, one would think the Mission: Impossible film franchise would be running on fumes by now. Fans of the franchise can rest assured that is definitely not the case as the latest offering, Mission: Impossible – Fallout makes its way to the multiplex. Fallout is many things to include the culmination of events that started in the previou ...[Read More]
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE- FALLOUT Family Movie Review
JASON BOURNE Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) WHAT'S JASON BOURNE ABOUT? The formerly amnesiac superspy is drawn out by an assassination plot designed to trade freedom for security. IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: B-) Not a bad film as much as an unnecessary one, Jason Bourne can't escape feeling like an extended epilogue to the much-better story that proceeded it, despite being well-acted and well-m ...[Read More]
SPECTRE Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) WHAT'S SPECTRE ABOUT? James Bond faces off with the nefarious criminal superpower SPECTRE for the first time in Daniel Craig's tenure (and the first time in the franchise since 1971's Diamonds Are Forever). IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: B) After taking bold chances with Casino Royale and Skyfall (two of the series' best installments), Spectre delivers w ...[Read More]
BRIDGE OF SPIES Family Movie Review
Review by Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) WHAT'S BRIDGE OF SPIES ABOUT? A New York attorney (Tom Hanks) is recruited to defend a Soviet spy, then to negotiate a prisoner exchange for an American POW during the Cold War. IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: A+) Much as he did with 2012's Lincoln, Steven Spielberg has taken a dialogue-heavy screenplay with very little action and turned it into so ...[Read More]
THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) WHAT'S THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E ABOUT? During the Cold War, rival Soviet and American spies team up to stop a greater threat. Based on the classic television series. IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: A-). The Man From U.N.C.L.E is a clear case of style over substance, but what style! Director Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes) has crafted a film that, a few modern ...[Read More]
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family Therapist, film critic) WHAT'S MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION ABOUT? Ethan Hunt and his friends team up with a lethal operative to bring down a global organization of spies and terrorists. But whose side is she really on? IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: A-) While it's debatable which M:I film is king of the series, Rogue Nation certainly earns its place alongside the best of t ...[Read More]
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE- GHOST PROTOCOL review (Grade: B+ ) I'll just say it: with Jackie Chan arthritic and far past his prime and Tony Jaa retired and living in solitude as a monk, Tom Cruise is the world's greatest stuntman-actor. The commitment and athleticism shown by the soon to be 50-year-old over the course of his career, and the Mission Impos ...[Read More]
SALT Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (family therapist, film critic) Salt, the female answer to the James Bond and Jason Bourne franchises, is an entertainingly absurd espionage film starring Angelina Jolie as a CIA agent who may or may not be doubling as a Russian spy. Jolie displays a nice range of emotion here and does most of her own impressive stunt-work in the film's many chase and fight scenes. The numerous ...[Read More]
KNIGHT AND DAY Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz star in this romantic action-comedy about an unfailingly polite (and somewhat crazy) spy and the girl next door he falls for. No matter your opinion on Tom Cruise, he is a hoot here as he spoofs his own “invincible action hero” screen image as well as his own eccentric real-life persona. In no other film has he made me ...[Read More]
GET SMART Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) Get Smart will have you smiling the whole time, chuckling and giggling for a healthy chunk of it, and a handful of times it'll make you laugh until it hurts. Surprisingly solid action, a very likable role for Steve Carell, and Anne Hathaway showing more charm than ever. Alan Arkin, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson…they're all good. Not ...[Read More]