Flick Nation

22/10/2022

The California Independent Film Festival is back, beginning November 10th at the Orinda Theatre! Dennis Willis chats with festival programmer Efi Lubliner about the opening night film Last Film Show.

22/10/2022

Attention Film Lovers! The ALL VIRTUAL Silicon Valley Film Festival is almost here. Don't miss the festival's impressive slate of 30 films, which run 10/23-11/6, 100% of which are streaming online. A very cool feature of this year's festival are post-film video conference discussions with directors and other film talent. And don't worry if you miss the first screening, all movies are available for UNLIMITED VIEWING FOR 72 HOURS. Schedule and tickets at www.svjff.org. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D19flnSG79Q

The fall of 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of Fiddler on the Roof, the film Pauline Kael (The New Yorker) called "the most powerful movie musical ever made...

14/11/2019

Happy birthday to the one and only Baby Huey

03/10/2019

The Joker! Robin Williams! Spider-man! Charlie Brown! There's something for everyone this week on screens big and small. PS: When you see Joker, leave your kids at home!

Joaquin Phoenix dominates the long-awaited controversial Joker movie, Spider-man: Far From Home swings to home media, there’s a new Peanuts compilation, and if you’re a Robin Williams fan, you’re going to want to save your pennies for the new Comic Genius collection.

27/06/2019

Did you know Flick Nation reviews and movie coverage can now be heard on the 107.7 The Bone website? Check it out - and let us know what you plan to see this weekend!

Dennis Willis talks about Yesterday, the new romantic comedy that asks what if nobody remember The Beatles? Also, did you know that Sylvester Stallone made two sequels to Escape Plan? Plus, the Avengers assemble once again to defeat their greatest threat: James Cameron’s Avatar!

09/01/2019

Dennis Willis chats with KGO Radio's Ronn Owens about the most anticipated 2019 movies, including The Irishman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Avengers: Endgame, and Toy Story 4.

Ronn welcomed his regular film critic Dennis Willis to the first of two reports this holiday season. This time, Ronn and Dennis decided to look forward before looking back as they came up with some movies to look for as potential hits in 2019. Some of the choices include Quentin Tarantino’s Once U...

02/11/2018

Can a movie about larger-than-life icon Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) be both exhilarating AND a disappointment? Is this real life, or is it fantasy? According to Dennis Willis, it’s both!

The long-awaited Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody arrives with a lot of baggage – years spent in development, tumultuous debates about whether the tone of the film should be somber or celebratory, and director Bryan Singer, who was fired mid-production. Dennis Willis examines the film that emerges f...

03/10/2018

Do we really need a fourth version of A Star Is Born?
Film Critic Dennis Willis considers that relevant question while also trying to make sense of just how good it is. Bradley Cooper’s stunning directorial debut of this oft-told melodrama might very well be the best version to date – and is certainly the best in half a century.

Do we really need a fourth version of A Star Is Born? Film Critic Dennis Willis considers that relevant question while also trying to make sense of just how good it is in his latest review below. From Bradley Cooper’s stunning directorial debut to his complete onscreen transformation, this oft-tol...

03/10/2018

Dennis Willis dives into the world of 70s punk and the indie rock scene of the 80s for a look at the new Joan Jett documentary, Bad Reputation. Jett’s a pioneer, a music and social icon, and a flat-out legend. But would you believe 23 labels turned her down — even after her tenure in the landmark all-girl rock band The Runaways? Bad Reputation deals head-on with the patriarchy of the rock scene, and the fact that Jett dealt with being frozen out by picking up a flamethrower!

http://flicknation.net/2018/09/26/bad-reputation-review/

Film critic Dennis Willis dives into the world of 70s punk and the indie rock scene of the 80s for a look at the new Joan Jett documentary, Bad Reputation. Jett’s a pioneer, a music and social icon, and a flat-out legend. But would you believe 23 labels turned her down — even after her …

20/09/2018

27/07/2018

Dennis Willis reviews Mission impossible: Fallout, the sixth installment of the venerable Tom Cruise franchise, as well as what chapter to start the re-watch at, and why these movies are still a hit with audiences 22 years later.

Dennis Willis reviews Mission impossible: Fallout, the sixth installment of the venerable Tom Cruise franchise, as well as what chapter to start the re-watch at, and why these movies are still a hit with audiences 22 years later.

17/01/2018

Dennis Willis spotlights the latest rental, sales, and streaming titles – including David Letterman’s return to TV, on the Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman 2018, Katt Williams: Great America (Netflix), and more new releases.

Dennis Willis spotlights the latest rental, sales, and streaming titles – including David Letterman’s return to TV, on the Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Katt Williams: Great America (Netflix), and the streaming debut of the shark thriller 47 Meters Down. New releases availa...

10/01/2018

Dennis Willis chats with KGO Radio’s Brian Copeland about the divided audience over Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the Netflix comedy-thriller The End Of The F***ing World, the digital premieres of Blade Runner 2049 and Stephen King’s It, and whether Dunkirk works when you watch it on a phone.

Dennis Willis chats with KGO Radio’s Brian Copeland about the divided audience over Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the Netflix comedy-thriller The End of the F***ing World, the digital premieres of Blade Runner 2049 and Stephen King’s It, and whether Dunkirk works when you watch it on a phone.

20/10/2017

Dennis Willis chats with KGO Radio’s Brian Copeland about the powerful Netflix drama The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) with Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, and dramatic performances from Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller; the David Fincher thriller series MINDHUNTER, the theatrical hit Girls Trip, and director Sofia Coppola’s version of The Beguiled. Plus, how stoned does one have to be to enjoy Amazon’s reboot of Sigmund and the Sea Monsters?

Dennis Willis chats with KGO Radio’s Brian Copeland about the powerful Netflix drama The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) with Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, and dramatic performances from Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller; the David Fincher thriller series Mindhunter, the theatrical hit Girls Trip,...

30/09/2017

Time for some group participation!

We'll begin...

"Yo, Adrian!"
"I coulda been a contender!"
"You're gonna need a bigger boat!"

We showed you ours, you show us yours!

29/09/2017

Tom Cruise and ... typewriters! ... return with a vengeance this weekend!

Dennis Willis reviews the true-life Tom Cruise crime flick American Made, and the charming documentary California Typewriter. LISTEN:

23/09/2017

Battle of the Sexes may not be the first telling of the famed King/Riggs matchup, but the timing of its arrival could not be more perfect.

Battle Of The Sexes tells the wild true life story of when reining feminist tennis legend Billie Jean King accepted a $100,000 Challenge from male chauvinist champ Bobby Riggs, an outrageous event that was carried on prime-time TV to an audience of 90 million viewers. It was the epitome of 1970s spo...

22/09/2017

Steve Wagner marvels at the fact that ! contains both the oldest story every told, and moments of inspired batsh*t insanity!

MOMMY AND DADDY ARE FIGHTING! Darren Aronovsky’s mother! Says This is Seriously Fu**ed Up Films have always tried to show us our fears and comment on what is threatening to the world; the good ones usually do it with veiled, nuanced archetypal drama, while the bad ones are called horror movies. Okay...

20/09/2017

Dennis Willis chats with KGO Radio’s Pat Thurston about the home media release of Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the Netflix comedy special Marc Maron: Too Real, the TV premiere of the long-shelved Prince concert film Sign O’The Times.

15/09/2017

Darren Aronofsky's polarizing new thriller ! is now out, and Dennis Willis has some tips if you plan to see it.

Dennis Willis reviews Darren Aronofsky’s polarizing new thriller mother! Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem open their doors to surprise guests, and that’s when things get weird. This film is shocking, but there’s a lot more going on under the hood! LISTEN HERE:

13/09/2017

Dennis Willis finally watched The Mummy, so you don't have to.

Dennis Willis chats with KGO Radio’s Brian Copeland about the decision to hire J.J. Abrams to direct Star Wars: Episode IX, the Tom Cruise horror vehicle The Mummy, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, and the Disney movies available on Netflix this week.

08/09/2017

IT made $13 million last night, bound for a record-setting weekend. Here's Dennis' take on the movie. You'll float too!

Dennis Willis reviews the long-awaited adaptation of Stephen King’s classic It; and the Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy Home Again.

16/08/2017

Dennis Willis chats with KGO Radio’s Brian Copeland about Alien: Covenant, the Netflix movie Naked with Marlon Wayans, the Amazon series Comrade Detective, and The Last Tycoon.

17/05/2017

Leonard Maltin thinks we should keep our VHS collections, and we are inclined to believe him!

Amidst the various “in memoriam” pieces for 2016 one name was missing: not an actor or a filmmaker, but a format familiar to all of us–vhs. Several sources reported that the manufacture of vi…

17/05/2017

Theaters vs. Netflix? Pedro vs. Will? What say you?

When Will Smith said, “I’m looking for the opportunity to slam my hand on the table and disagree with Pedro, I’m looking forward to a good jury scandal,” he got his wish soo…

08/03/2017

Dennis Willis talks with KGO Radio’s Brian Copeland about the latest streaming releases and digital rentals, including Amy Schumer: The Leather Special (Netflix), Imperial Dreams (Netflix) The Dressmaker (Amazon Prime), Westworld, Season 1 (Amazon).

01/03/2017

Coincidentally, this trailer dropped at the exact moment #45 took the stage. Discuss.

The path to paradise begins in hell. Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created, with ALIEN: COVENANT, a new chapter in his groundbreaking ALIEN franchise. The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted pa...

11/02/2017

"Do we have to have so much math?’

Damien Chazelle, Barry Jenkins, Allison Schroeder and more dish on insane suggestions from Hollywood suits

03/02/2017

City Slickers meets Westworld, with Billy Crystal and Daniel Stern!

01/02/2017

Remember those bygone days when certain stores would decorate their walls with movie titles for us to pick through? Well, just imagine a magical place that cuts out the celluloid chaff and delivers…