The success of “Dear Evan Hansen” on Broadway makes it exceptionally clear that there is something in the story and the songs and the production (and everything else) that speaks to an audience. It is inarguable. Never having seen the… Read More ›
I don’t know very much about the book publishing world. I cannot attempt to tell you, in any sort of detail (or even broadly), how a book goes from manuscript form to sitting on the shelf at a bookstore and… Read More ›
There are kids who look a good scare as much as some adults, and it is for that crowd that the new Netflix film, “Nightbooks,” is clearly intended. Starring Krysten Ritter as an evil witch and Winslow Fegley and Lidya… Read More ›
One, usually, does not approach a jigsaw puzzle from a single spot. That is, as you go around building the entire border, separating all the edge pieces no matter if they match the ones you already have or not. After… Read More ›
I love the Jungle Cruise ride at Walt DisneyWorld. I know that it’s a little corny (or a lot corny), but it is an absolute favorite. I was, perhaps, a little trepidatious when it was announced that they were going… Read More ›
At its best, “Star Trek” shines a light on our own humanity. It shows us how we could be better, how we could do more. It offers us not just those lofty ideals, but identifies its characters as being less… Read More ›
The movies “Nashville” and “A Place in the Sun” are both great. They both offer up not just engrossing stories, not just wonderful filmmaking, but important thoughts about the American Dream and the ways in which we can destroy it…. Read More ›
We are going to get a whole lot of movies about Covid. It is inevitable. They are going to discuss the disease and the response, the effects on the world at large and specific people in particular. These movies are… Read More ›
“Understated” is unquestionably the wrong word to use when describing Martin Campbell’s latest film, “The Protégé.” No, this is a movie with blood and violence and foul language. It is not understated. And yet, the most interesting thing about the… Read More ›
There is a brilliant moment in writer-director Evan Oppenheimer’s “The Magnificent Meyersons” in which Dr. Terri Meyerson (Kate Mulgrew) is talking to her mother, Celeste (Barbara Barrie), and suggests that we are all the sum of our experiences, whether we… Read More ›
I think that 2016’s “Arrival” and 2018’s “Annihilation” are two of the best “thinking” sci-fi/alien movies that we’ve gotten in a long while. These are movies that make you question what you’re seeing; they’re movies that make you instantly want… Read More ›
We are better when we can be ourselves and have confidence in the knowledge that those around us will accept us as such. One needs look no further than Disney-Pixar’s “Luca” to see just how much it means to be… Read More ›
It is one thing to be angry and quite another to see that anger manifest itself in a sensible—and potentially productive—way. The same is true for any emotion. Of course, try as we might, we can’t always control the ways… Read More ›
Mysteries are great. Suspense and scares are great. There is no reason why every little thing happening in a film has to be explained. There is no reason why we have to understand exactly how the horror in a horror… Read More ›
It would be wrong to think that James Gunn has taken, wholesale, his work on the two “Guardians of the Galaxy” Marvel movies and simply moved the concepts over to DC for their “Suicide Squad” sequel, “The Suicide Squad” (yes,… Read More ›
Movies don’t always have to make complete sense. The question is whether or not as we watch them we understand enough of what’s going on to enjoy them; whether there’s enough there to make us want to watch the entire… Read More ›
Listen, I’m not going to lie to you — I took last week off from the podcast. It’s the summer, I’m allowed to take a week off. Odds are, honestly, that I’m going to take another week off before the… Read More ›
What is it to face your destiny? What is it to know for an extended period that an upcoming moment is the moment and more than that, but to know exactly when it is going to take place? These are… Read More ›
Some movies require a certain amount of deciphering, of figuring out what is going on. Sometimes this is due to the fact that the narrative is cryptic, sometimes it’s due to the fact that the visuals are cryptic, and sometimes… Read More ›
Some movies are clever, subtle, little things. They deftly offer up a notion, throwing it into the back of your mind before moving on to something else (“Inception”-style, if you will). But the idea sits there, lingering, growing in your… Read More ›
When the end credits for interestingly titled, “Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins” begin, they are markedly different from the rest of the film. Before the full-on scrolling starts, the credits are loud and colorful and a little off the wall… Read More ›
Certainly not limited to the genre by any stretch of the imagination, Kate Beckinsale long ago proved her abilities to deliver oodles of action on screen, appearing in multiple “Underworld” movies and more. She is now back delivering body blow… Read More ›
That fellow who lives in a pineapple under the sea (SpongeBob SquarePants) premiered his Nickelodeon series back in 1999. Now, here in 2021, his third big movie, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run,” is out on Blu-ray. Although Josh… Read More ›
Unless the lead character in a story is a newborn, the question of how to deal with their backstory regularly (not always) appears. For a movie, how should a filmmaker go about giving us the information we need to know… Read More ›
