Movie Reviews
Get the latest movie reviews from our in-house critics, Shirrel Rhoades and Ian Brockway. You’ll also find reviews from film festivals and advance screening movies. Do you have what it takes to be a Guest movie reviewer? Send us your review to info@TropicCinema.com for approval and maybe you’ll earn a spot! Want to make sure you never miss a review? Follow the Tropic on Facebook for daily updates!
Tropic Sprockets: Stan & Ollie
“Stan & Ollie” is an entertaining and profound portrait of a friendship. It is without guile, manipulation or artifice. As a film and a record of two lives living with comedy and one another, it is a joy.
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Tropic Sprockets: Cold War
“Cold War” is another stark and rhythmic study of the human condition equal to “Ida” if not better. The final scene has a gruesome yet graceful impact that makes the story all the more powerful.
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Front Row at the Movies: They Shall Not Grow Old
“We edited out any references to dates and places, because I didn’t want the movie to be about this day here or that day there,” says director Peter Jackson. As a result, the film becomes more a poignant group portrait than a history lesson.
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Front Row at the Movies: Little Shop of Horrors Sing-A-Long
Roger Corman says “The Little Shop of Horrors” was his favorite movie title. “It implied a horror film, but it also implied that there was going to be humor in it -- it was going to be something different. I was sort of aiming at two disparate audiences and brought them together with that title.” Now add music. And you get an even bigger audience that sings along.
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Tropic Sprockets: The Lego Movie 2
Despite its occasional lapse in pacing, “LEGO Movie 2” will charm younger viewers and give some adults the giggles. The songs are catchy and the colors pop. This is solid cheer and lighthearted fun will be had by all.
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Tropic Sprockets: 2019 Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts
The Oscar-nominated documentary shorts have a history of being pointed, uncompromising and confrontational, providing a full range of emotions. The entries often span the globe with intrigue, outrage and hope. This year of 2019 is no exception.
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Tropic Sprockets: They Shall Not Grow Old
Peter Jackson ("The Lord of the Rings") has taken over 100 hours of WWI documentary footage and composed it into a feature length film. The result is an artistic work, a meditation, a tribute to British soldiers and a poem detailing the military’s effect on the human spirit.
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Tropic Sprockets: 2019 Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts
These films make a sinister quartet (and one hopeful exception) and make for difficult viewing. Tough as these Oscar shorts are, each is overwhelmingly compelling and you will be drawn in, albeit into a discomfiting darkness.
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Front Row at the Movies: The Lego Movie 2
This week I feel like movies have come full circle for me, because we have “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,” a feature film starring little toy Lego characters. Sure, this one is slicker than my son’s early-on videos, but at the end of the day it’s still toys being filmed in stop motion.
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Front Row at the Movies: Cold War
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 95% fresh rating. Its consensus says, “With a brilliantly stark visual aesthetic to match its lean narrative, ‘Cold War’ doesn’t waste a moment of its brief running time — and doesn’t skimp on its bittersweet emotional impact.”
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