EXAMINER REVIEWS

NEW RELEASE REVIEWS AND MORE FOR THE EXAMINER!!!

Examiner Review Schedule

On this page, you will see the reviews that I work on for the Examiner and the Dietrich Theater in Tunkhannock for the current new releases, film festival selections and/or special movie events that will also appear in the Wyoming County Press Examiner!!! I will keep this schedule of upcoming reviews as updated as possible!!! I typically post my reviews on here a few days prior to when they appear in the Examiner!!

SPECIAL REVIEWS!!!

KEEP ON CHECKING FOR MORE UPDATES ON SPECIAL REVIEWS!!!

AN AMERICA 250 REVIEW SLATE STARTING ON 7/1 THROUGH THE MONTH OF JULY!

Rewind series starts towards the end of April! Many movies are celebrating big anniversaries this year! This will be the primary series from April onward except for a few exceptions. More updates to follow!

* Each of the lists of films will be updated as the reviews are published and posted!*

*** Line-ups are subject to change ***

I will start getting back on track with the recent releases that I haven't gotten a chance to check out during their initial releases! I will be keeping the list below updated as I go through these titles! Make sure to keep checking my review slates below to see when my review for these titles will be available!

JUNE	JUNE
JUNE	JULY
JULY	JUNE
JUNE

My Rewind Series will be my primary throwback series where I take a look at some films that are celebrating some milestones anniversaries this year! The line up will be updated as I go through the list!!

MAY	MAY
MAY	MAY
JUNE	JUNE
JUNE	JUNE
JUNE

EXAMINER 5/27

EXAMINER 6/3

My Examiner reviews for the 5/27 edition will consist of the following:

The Prestige (rewind series) 20th anniversary - BONUS ONLINE REVIEW!!!
The Mandalorian Season 2
Legally Blonde (Rewind Series) 25th anniversary (special Dietrich movie event)
The Mummy Returns (Rewind Series) 25th anniversary
Top Gun (Rewind Series) 40th anniversary)
The Sheep Detectives (new release)

My Examiner reviews for the 6/3 edition will consist of the following:

The Mandalorian and Grogu (new)
The Mandalorian Season 3
The Birdcage (special Dietrich movie event) (Rewind Series) 30th anniversary)
Obsession (new)
Anaconda (recent release 2025)
Scary Movie 1 and 2 (online bonus review)

EXAMINER 6/10

My Examiner reviews for the 6/10 edition will consist of the following:

The Breadwinner (new)
65 (recent release 2023)
Greenland 2: Migration (recent release 2026)
The Fast and the Furious (Rewind Series 25th anniversary)
The Princess Diaries (Rewind Series 25th anniversary)
Scary Movie 3 and 4 (online bonus review)

EXAMINER 6/17

My Examiner reviews for the 6/17 edition will consist of the following:

Scary Movie (new)
Masters of the Universe (new)
Ocean's Eleven (Rewind Series 25th anniversary) (special Dietrich showings)
Zoolander (Rewind Series 25th anniversary)
Rewind Series 25th anniversary review TBA
Scary Movie 5 (online bonus review)

EXAMINER 6/24

My Examiner reviews for the 6/24 edition will consist of the following:

Disclosure Day (new)
1776 (special Dietrich event)
Monsters Inc (Rewind Series 25th anniversary)
Primitive War (recent release 2026)
The Pope's Exorcist (recent release 2023)
bonus online review TBA

Rewind Back to 1996: A Nostalgic Childhood Favorite of the 90s - “Space Jam”

Last week, I officially started up my Rewind Series with “The Silence of the Lambs” (35th anniversary; showing at the Dietrich Theater April 26 and 29) and one of my childhood favorites “Short Circuit” (40th anniversary). And for those who don’t know, my Rewind review series will consist of reviews for movies that I will be checking out that are celebrating anniversary milestones throughout the year. For this week, I will be checking out two movies that will be celebrating th

Matt Palmer

Apr 274 min read

Rewind Back to 1996: A 90s Action Staple - “The Rock”

For this review, I checked out an action movie that is probably one of the best action movies that came out of the 1990s. This 90s action staple that I am talking about is the 1996 action flick “The Rock.” FBI chemical warfare expert Stanley Goodspeed is sent on an urgent mission with a former British spy, John Patrick Mason, to stop General Francis X. Hummel from launching chemical weapons on Alcatraz Island into San Francisco. Gen. Hummel demands $100 million in war reparat

Matt Palmer

Apr 264 min read

Spring Film Festival - “Midwinter Break”

Longtime retired couple Stella and Gerry realize that their relationship has reached a crossroads while on holiday in Amsterdam. After so much time and so many memories, long-held promises and deeply concealed wounds threaten to come to light and force them to confront their future. The Spring Film Festival selection, “Midwinter Break,” is a slow-moving, melancholic drama that delivers exceptional performances from Lesley Manville and Ciaran Hinds. Now, while it’s a slow-movi

Matt Palmer

Apr 253 min read

Spring Film Festival - Epic: Elvis Presley in Concert

The Dietrich Theater’s annual Spring Film Festival is now ongoing and it’s time to check out as many film selections as possible. And just like the previous film festivals, I will ultimately get to the films that I missed once they are available on streaming (SVOD). So, for this review, I took a look at the film festival selection “Epic: Elvis Presley in Concert.” Elvis sings and tells his story like never before in a new cinematic experience from visionary filmmaker Baz Luhr

Matt Palmer

Apr 243 min read

Rewind Back to 1991: A Look Back at the Still Chilling “The Silence of the Lambs” (35th anniversary)

If you are a fan of some classic films, then I highly suggest you check out the Dietrich Theater's website since the theater will be showing some films that are celebrating some big milestones. And, I plan on checking most of them (if not all) for my new Rewind Series. The first classic that will be showing at the Dietrich Theater coming up is the 1991 classic film “The Silence of the Lambs” - 35th anniversary. Clarice Starling is one of the top students at the FBI's training

Matt Palmer

Apr 225 min read

“Hamnet” A Powerful Must See Film

From Academy Award winning writer/director Chloe Zhao, “Hamnet” tells the powerful story of love and loss. Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, celebrate the birth of a twin boy and girl and when the young boy Hamnet died at a young age, it inspires Shakespeare to write his masterpiece “Hamlet.” “Hamnet” is one of the films that the Dietrich Theater was showing during their Winter Film Festival a couple months ago that I wanted to check out, yet didn’t get a chance to do so. Now

Matt Palmer

Apr 213 min read

From Book to Screen: “Primal Fear”

For my final book to screen review, I took a look at a 1996 film that still has some of the best endings you really wouldn’t expect and is based on the 1993 thriller novel of the same name by author William Diehl. The topic of this review is “Primal Fear,” which is also celebrating its 30th anniversary. Defense attorney Martin Vail takes on jobs for money and prestige rather than any sense of the greater good. His latest case involves an altar boy, accused of brutally murderi

Matt Palmer

Apr 203 min read

Rewind Back to 1986: A Look Back at “Short Circuit”

This marks the start of my throwback series called the Rewind Series, where I take a look at some movies that are celebrating anniversary milestones. And, just a quick heads up, as I am still planning my review line up, not every edition will consist of a review for the series! So, to kick this series off, I wanted to revisit a childhood favorite of mine that I haven’t seen in years and once I saw that it was available on Tubi, I actually had to watch it not once but twice! T

Matt Palmer

Apr 184 min read

“You, Me & Tuscany” A Sweet, Easy Going Rom-Com

Sometimes the wrong place is right where you need to be in this romantic comedy about one little lie, one large Italian villa and two people getting lost in the sauce of love. Anna is a young woman who has abandoned her dreams of becoming a chef and is now drifting through her twenties with a series of bad choices. When Anna loses her house-sitting job (and housing) in one fell swoop, a chance encounter with Matteo - a handsome Italian who happens to have a villa sitting empt

Matt Palmer

Apr 173 min read

A Look at a Couple Movies Based on Popular Video Games

Since I recently revisited the 2023 “Super Mario Movie” and the new sequel, I wanted to take a look at a couple other video game movies that I haven’t seen yet. So, for this review I took a look at the 2021 movie “Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City” and the 2001 movie “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.” Welcome to Raccoon City, once the booming home of pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corp. The company’s exodus left the city a wasteland, a dying town with great evil brewing below the

Matt Palmer

Apr 153 min read

Book To Screen: “The Long Walk” A Tense, Deeply Emotional Film

“The Long Walk” is a dystopian novel by American author Stephen King, published in 1979, under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. In 2000, the American Library Association listed “The Long Walk” as one of the 100 best books for teenage readers between 1966 and 2000. Last year, it was adapted into a film directed by “Hunger Games” director Franchise Lawrence. Set in a dystopian 1970s, the film follows fifty young boys in a televised competitive walking contest, meant to inspire vi

Matt Palmer

Apr 133 min read

Book to Screen: “All the President’s Men”

For quite some time, I have always wanted to check out the film adaptation of “All the President’s Men,” based on the 1974 non-fiction book by journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. And, once I saw that the film is currently streaming on HBO Max, I finally had the chance to check it out! Two green reporters and rivals working for the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, research the botched 1972 burglary of the Democratic Party Headquarters at the Watergate

Matt Palmer

Apr 125 min read

Mario Fans Will Really Go “Wahoo!” For “Super Mario Galaxy”

Quick side note: Yes I had to use a Mario catchphrase for the review headline! A few years ago, Nintendo partnered up with Illumination to finally get a version of Mario that everyone wanted to see in the animated smash hit “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” After seeing how great the first movie was, I couldn't wait to see how the sequel would turn out. And, despite what the initial critic reviews are saying, if you loved the first movie, then I am absolutely certain you’ll hav

Matt Palmer

Apr 114 min read

“Mercy” Delivers An Intriguing Concept That Lacks Tension and Falls Flat

In the near future, a detective stands trial accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the advance A.I. judge he once championed, before it determines his fate. For those who may or may not remember, Amazon MGM released this high-concept movie a couple months ago and the initial reactions of this movie really divided both critics and audiences. While the initial critical reviews were mixed to negative, it seemed that some audiences really didn

Matt Palmer

Apr 72 min read

A Revisit of the Fun 2023 Adaptation of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”

The eagerly-awaited “Super Mario” sequel, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” is now showing on the big screen and I will be checking out the animated sequel for the April 15th edition of the Examiner! And quick side note - since this movie is based on a video game IP, I will also be checking out a couple other movies based on a video game property that I have never seen for the April 15th edition as well! So, before finally checking out the sequel, I wanted to revisit the 2023 a

Matt Palmer

Apr 64 min read

A “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” Revisit (In Remembrance - Catherine O’Hara)

For my final review of my small In Remembrance slate, I wanted to focus on the talented Catherine O’Hara. There are quite a few selections that I could’ve picked for this review that showed how talented the late actress was and might even check one or two out down the road. For this review, I took another look at the recent Tim Burton sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”, which also ended up being O’Hara’s final theatrical appearance. And fair warning: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS INVO

Matt Palmer

Apr 63 min read

Batter Up: A Look at the Inspirational Movie “The Rookie”

For my second and final baseball-related movie review, I took a look at the 2002 Disney movie “The Rookie.” “The Rookie” had received positive reviews from critics and audiences and is based on the true story of Jim Morris, who debuted in Major League Baseball at the age of 35. A true story about a coach who discovers that it’s never too late for dreams to come true. Jim Morris never made it out of the minor leagues before a shoulder injury ended his pitching career twelve ye

Matt Palmer

Apr 44 min read

Batter Up: A Look at the 1989 Baseball Comedy “Major League”

The MLB season is now in full swing and I wanted to take a look at a couple baseball-related movies. This review will be focusing on the hilarious 1989 classic “Major League.” Released on April 7, 1989, “Major League” grossed $75 million worldwide ($50 million domestically) from an $11 million budget and received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences. It later spawned two sequels (“Major League II” and “Major League: Back to the Minors”), neither of which repe

Matt Palmer

Apr 35 min read

“Hop” A Fun Easter Treat for the Whole Family

Easter is just around the corner and I wanted to check out something that the whole family could enjoy. So, as I was scrolling around, I found the 2011 movie from Universal and Illumination - “Hop.” Beneath Easter Island, in a giant factory that manufactures the world’s Easter candy, the popular rabbit is preparing to pass the mantle to his son, E.B. But E.B. has no interest in the job and would rather be a drummer. He runs away to Los Angeles, where an unemployed slacker nam

Matt Palmer

Mar 313 min read

“The Strangers: Chapter 2” A Slight Improvement of “Chapter 1”

Last week, I decided to give “The Strangers: Chapter 1” a chance and even though it did have some flaws here and there, it really wasn’t that bad. And, this week for the Examiner, I continued on with the recent “Strangers” trilogy and checked out “The Strangers: Chapter 2.” The Strangers are back - more brutal and relentless than ever. When they learn that one of their victims, Maya, is still alive, they return to finish what they’ve started. With nowhere to run and no one to

Matt Palmer

Mar 303 min read

NEW RELEASE REVIEWS AND MORE FOR THE EXAMINER!!!

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JULY

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EXAMINER 5/27

EXAMINER 6/3

EXAMINER 6/10

EXAMINER 6/17

EXAMINER 6/24

Rewind Back to 1996: A Nostalgic Childhood Favorite of the 90s - “Space Jam”

Rewind Back to 1996: A 90s Action Staple - “The Rock”

Spring Film Festival - “Midwinter Break”

Spring Film Festival - Epic: Elvis Presley in Concert

Rewind Back to 1991: A Look Back at the Still Chilling “The Silence of the Lambs” (35th anniversary)

“Hamnet” A Powerful Must See Film

From Book to Screen: “Primal Fear”

Rewind Back to 1986: A Look Back at “Short Circuit”

“You, Me & Tuscany” A Sweet, Easy Going Rom-Com

A Look at a Couple Movies Based on Popular Video Games

Book To Screen: “The Long Walk” A Tense, Deeply Emotional Film

Book to Screen: “All the President’s Men”

Mario Fans Will Really Go “Wahoo!” For “Super Mario Galaxy”

“Mercy” Delivers An Intriguing Concept That Lacks Tension and Falls Flat

A Revisit of the Fun 2023 Adaptation of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”

A “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” Revisit (In Remembrance - Catherine O’Hara)

Batter Up: A Look at the Inspirational Movie “The Rookie”

Batter Up: A Look at the 1989 Baseball Comedy “Major League”

“Hop” A Fun Easter Treat for the Whole Family

“The Strangers: Chapter 2” A Slight Improvement of “Chapter 1”