Articles by Paul Hall

In the movies, sequels are a way of life. Films that rake in big dollars at the box office are fertile territory for a second, third or fourth go-around. With likable characters and fun actors, it was only a matter of time until the 2015 Christmas Day release of Daddy’s Home found its way to a sequel, and that time is now with the Daddy’s Home 2. Brad (Will Ferrell) and Dusty (Mark Wahlberg) have ironed out their differences and are continuing down the pathway to being the best co-dads in the world. The kids love both of them equally, […]

“Hotshots” is the name given to the elite line of men and women fighting our nation’s wildfires. They are on the front lines as the devastating flames envelop the land around them. We take a look at just one group of hotshots in the film Only the Brave. Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin) has been working for years to get his fire crew certified as hotshots. His team is comprised of a variety of individuals, from the veterans who have been with him for years to the newbies he gives a chance to cut their teeth and prove they belong. One […]

It’s the perfect town. Everyone’s grass is meticulously maintained. Crime is virtually nonexistent. A friendly wave to all the neighbors is an everyday occurrence. The film Suburbicon from director George Clooney focuses on this community that shares its name. As with any idyllic community, nothing could possibly be going on behind closed doors, and everything is just as it seems — right? Wrong! What you see is not always what you get. The community is in an uproar over some new neighbors — who happen to be the first black family in Suburbicon. Residents have banded together to make it […]

Replicants still exist as of 2049, 30 years since the events of Blade Runner. The world has changed yet is still very similar to the place that existed. The law searches for outdated replicants that have since been replaced by a modified and more docile model. Living in this futuristic world, the ability to distinguish what is real and what is not is an extremely difficult endeavor. Replicants have been created to assist in all functions of life, and they are nearly indistinguishable from their human counterparts. And where there is not a true replicant, there are plenty of holograms […]

Children of all ages have always had mixed feelings about clowns. Some are overjoyed by the fun and smiles that clowns bring, while others find them to be the most frightening characters imaginable. When you meet Pennywise from the film It, based on Stephen King’s eponymous novel, it is easy to understand the fear that runs deep in some. Our collective fears of not only clowns, but also germs, basements and other things are at the heart of It. The town of Derry is a quiet place to be in 1989, but things are about to change for this sleepy […]

From slavery to the civil rights movement to present-day protests, race relations have always been an issue in the United States. The film Marshall takes a look at one immensely positive figure in the struggle for racial equality and his actions that changed America. That man is Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman). He won the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case that eliminated segregated schools, and he went on to become the first African-American to serve on the United States Supreme Court. In Marshall, we look at Thurgood’s early days as a lawyer for the NAACP. Marshall traveled around the […]

Although I was only a pint-sized version of myself in 1973, I heard about the battle that had the country’s attention and knew the sides being drawn. In the film Battle of the Sexes, the men are pitted against the women as that battle — the memorable tennis match — plays out at the Houston Astrodome. Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) was successful on the men’s tennis circuit. Now, over 50 years old, his time on the court is spent hustling the men who challenge him. If there’s money on the line, he wants it and will do anything to get […]

Director Christopher Nolan has been gaining a phenomenal reputation in Hollywood. With Dunkirk, Nolan sets his sights on World War II and telling the story of the people who were there during the fateful period. The story of Dunkirk deals with the British, French and Belgian troops being surrounded by German soldiers. Casualties were mounting as the Allied forces tried mightily to withdraw their forces. They attempted to fend off the ground troops advancing on them and the air attack devastating some of the destroyers trying to evacuate the men. As the attack continued to take its toll, the military […]

In 1967, as race riots swept the nation, Detroit found itself in the middle of a war zone. After a police raid on an illegal club, the fuse was lit and African-American men took to the streets to fight back against the predominantly white police force. Detroit, from Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow, focuses on the incidents that followed. Every battle has a number of both good and bad people involved. Unfortunately, in many cases, it’s the bad who have the loudest voice and the bad who ultimately are heard. Keeping the peace in Detroit amid rampant looting is an […]

We live in a dangerous world, protected by individuals we know and others we don’t. One of those behind-the-scenes defenders is the organization we met in the film Kingsman: The Secret Service, made up of proper English gentlemen and women who are the best of the best when it comes to fighting evil. In the Kingsman: The Golden Circle, we find out if they can rise up and save us all again. Back in 2015, I was surprised by a cool action film called Kingsman: The Secret Service. If you haven’t checked out the first film, you may want to […]