The more I watch Kate McKinnon on television and in movies, the more convinced I am that she is going to be here making people laugh for years to come (and the happier I am about that fact, too). She… Read More ›
review
Movie Review: "La La Land"
There are fewer musicals produced by Hollywood than there used to be. Well, I say that there are but I haven’t run the numbers, I assume that there are… it certainly feels like there are. When they come along though,… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Bad Santa 2"
Is the first “Bad Santa” film an intelligent, wry, commentary on the commercialization of the holiday season? Is it an insightful look at knowing the difference between the things we want and the things we need? Is it a reminder… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Allied" (2016)
Robert Zemeckis’ new live action film, “Allied,” opens with Brad Pitt’s character, Max Vatan, parachuting into French Morocco in 1942. He lands in the desert and is quickly picked up and brought to Casablanca. A spy, once in the city… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"
Quick, how much of the Harry Potter books/movies do you remember? How well steeped are you in the Deathly Hallows? Does the name Gellert Grindelwald mean anything to you? “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” the return of the… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Life on the Line" (2016)
People have dangerous jobs and telling the story of someone with a dangerous job can make for an exciting, enlightening, dramatic film-going experience. Or, it can feel a little like pandering to that group. “Life on the Line” feels more… Read More ›
New York Film Festival Movie Review: "Manchester by the Sea"
Sitting there at the New York Film Festival, just as with anywhere one might watch a film, there are things that work and things that don’t. Some movies leave you flat and others hit you like a freight train, offering… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Arrival" (2016)
We are, it seems to me, living in a great day for science fiction movies. Rather than solely having to subsist on massive, operatic space battles (which, don’t get me wrong, can be great), we also get thinking science fiction…. Read More ›
Movie Review: "Trolls" (2016)
If “The LEGO Movie” taught us nothing else, we at least all walked away from that film knowing that there is a way to make a movie based upon a toy that doesn’t feel as though the film is merely… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Inferno" (2016)
“Inferno” is the third of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon novels to be turned into films by director Ron Howard with star Tom Hanks. The basic notion of Langdon’s world is that the man knows all about signs and symbols and… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Jack Reacher: Never go Back"
I don’t know exactly when it was, but at some point, Tom Cruise decided that his action movies should be funny in addition to delivering thrills. This certainly wasn’t always the case (see the first “Mission: Impossible”) but it is… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Keeping up with the Joneses" (2016)
When is a superspy not a superspy? When they’re a bad spy. Greg Mottola’s latest directorial effort, “Keeping up with the Joneses,” offers a well-worn premise – the folks next door are not remotely who they appear to be. In… Read More ›
Movie Review: "The Accountant" (2016)
Please be aware, this is a lightly spoilery review: enough of the movie’s issues result around what are supposed to be reveals/surprises that they have to be referenced. The poster for “The Accountant” features, in part, Ben Affleck holding a… Read More ›
Movie Review: "The Girl on the Train"
Tate Taylor’s adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ novel “Girl on the Train” desperately wants to situate itself in a small corner of Westchester County, moving the location of the novel from outside London to this area, but it is this area… Read More ›
New York Film Festival Movie Review: "13th"
To a large extent, and whether we tend to like it or not, documentaries are all about constructing an argument. They are about putting together the pieces of a story in such a way so as to create the strongest,… Read More ›
New York Film Festival Movie Review: "Graduation"
There are too many people who, at least anecdotally, dislike going to see movies with subtitles. Generally speaking, this is a great loss. But, today we get specific, one foreign language movie absolutely worth seeing – Cristian Mungiu’s “Graduation.” The… Read More ›
New York Film Festival Movie Review: "The Rehearsal" (2016)
Even if it delves into the topic, it would be difficult to suggest that “The Rehearsal” (2106) offers up a clear idea of exactly what it takes to be an actor. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that… Read More ›
New York Film Festival Movie Review: "I, Daniel Blake" & "Moonlight"
The New York Film Festival opens its 54 year on September 30th with Ava DuVernay’s “13th.” More than a week earlier, on September 19th, the press and industry screenings began. Happily, I was fortunate enough to be there, seated in… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children"
Reading Ransom Riggs’ young adult book “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” it seems perfectly Tim Burton. It is a novel with some light scares, a unique location, something magical/wondrous, and a whole lot of odd things going on. The… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Snowden"
The single best moment of the “Snowden” press screening came after the movie had concluded. It occurred during a Q&A which featured the film’s stars, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley; its director, Oliver Stone; and the man himself, Edward Snowden… Read More ›
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