the @popcollin reviews

Brendan Fraser delivers the performance of a lifetime as Charlie, a morbidly obese online English teacher who’s relegated to the couch all day and is apparently mere moments from certain death. Written by Samuel D. Hunter (based on his own play) and directed by Darren Aronofsky, this, as you might […]

In a nutshell—‘Die Hard’ with Santa Claus… and a sense of humor. David Harbour leads the way as the real-life jolly ol’ St. Nick in this ultra-violent but also ultra-fun action flick that pits one man against a band of baddies when they try to steal millions from a super-dysfunctional […]

What might well have been a beyond-cheesy groaner of a Hallmark holiday movie on this side of the pond instead arrives as a quirky, charming, and ultimately fun comedy-of-errors flick straight out of the UK. Asa Butterfield (‘Hugo’) stars as James, who (in an O. Henry-type twist) tries to surprise […]

Director (and co-writer) Steven Spielberg’s latest is a semi-autobiographical tale of a young boy growing up with a love of movie-making. The story of wide-eyed wonder we may have been expecting (or hoping for), however, is replaced by revelations of a contentious household, a band of high school bullies, and […]

Picking up 30+ years after the 1940-set, beloved classic, this sequel—which stars much of the original cast—finds all-grown-up Ralphie heading home from Chicago to celebrate Christmas in quaint little Hohman with his family. Even over-protective super-fans of the original (including yours truly), will find plenty to enjoy in this admirable […]

Lena Dunham adapted and directed this clever period piece about a young woman (Bella Ramsey, ‘Game of Thrones’) in 13th century England whose father (Andrew Scott) needs to marry her off for a dowry. Part broad comedy, part coming-of-age drama, the wild mash-up of reimagined 90s tunes and Medieval times […]

Kaley Cuoco and Pete Davidson headline this ‘Groundhog Day’-on-acid rom-com from camera operator-turned-director Alex Lehmann. Essentially just a vehicle for Cuoco to strut her acting chops (which are, surprisingly, considerable, given her decade-plus on the awful ‘The Big Bang Theory’), it’s a quirky and only occasionally maddening Indie darling. It […]

The always-on Jamie Foxx stars as lone-wolf vampire hunter Bud in the directorial debut of longtime stunt coordinator J.J. Perry (‘The Fast and the Furious’, ‘John WIck’). Supremely stylized to match ifs SoCal locale, the film is a bloody good time, particularly once Bud is reluctantly paired up with a […]

Ryan Gosling (good guy) squares off against Chris Evans (bad guy) in this spy vs. spy action flick from directors Joe and Anthony Russo (‘Avengers: Endgame’). It’s big-budget, bloody, mindless fun combining beautiful people (Ana de Armas, Regé-Jean Page, and Dhanush co-star), exotic locales (Prague, Vienna, and Château de Chantilly), […]

Based on the bestselling novel by Delia Owen, this whodunnit-romance plays like a surprisingly solid mash-up of Nicholas Sparks and John Grisham. Daisy Edgar-Jones turns in a fine performance as Kya—the so-called Marsh Girl, who raises herself in a North Carolina swamp and finds herself accused of murder—and the evocative […]