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 ›
review
Movie Review: “Nightbooks”
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 ›
Movie Review: “Yakuza Princess”
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 ›
Movie Review: “Together” (2021)
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 ›
Movie Review: “The Protégé”
“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 ›
Movie Review: “The Magnificent Meyersons”
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 ›
Movie Review: “Risen” (2021)
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 ›
Movie Review: “Last Call: The Shutdown of NYC Bars”
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 ›
Movie Review: “The Suicide Squad”
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 ›
Movie Review: “Naked Singularity”
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 ›
Movie Review: “The Green Knight”
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 ›
Movie Review: “Never Gonna Snow Again”
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 ›
Movie Review: “Old”
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 ›
Movie Review: “Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins”
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 ›
Movie Review: “Jolt”
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 ›
Movie Review: “Die in a Gunfight”
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 ›
Movie Review: “Marathon” (2021)
There is a certain masochism required to run a marathon. The training is long and often difficult, injuries crop up and destroy months of work, pandemics come along and cancel everything, some races can be cancelled at the last minute… Read More ›
Movie Review: “The Boss Baby: Family Business”
A character in the new “Boss Baby” movie, “The Boss Baby: Family Business,” has a hankering for sweets. He sits there and eats ice cream and soda and lollipops and, yes, even handfuls of sugar itself. Of course he does… Read More ›
Movie Review: “First Date” (2021)
Way back in 1988, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince made sure that all teens knew the importance of not cruising around the neighborhood in a car that they shouldn’t be driving. Assuredly, this was not the first example… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Werewolves Within”
The question is perhaps not “do werewolves exist,” but rather “does it matter if werewolves exist when human beings, with all their horrific faults, are trapped together and believe that werewolves might exist?” Such is one of the conundrums put… Read More ›
