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 ›
review
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 ›
Movie Review: "Bridget Jones’s Baby"
On the face of it, “Bridget Jones’s Baby” seems like an unlikely sort of endeavor. It is another of this year’s delayed sequels (following things like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” and “Finding Dory,” just to name a couple)…. Read More ›
Movie Review: "Sully"
Is the “Miracle on the Hudson” inextricably linked to 9/11? That is, is it possible to discuss Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s landing US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in January of 2009 without also talking about the terrorist… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Kicks" (2016)
The tagline on the poster for Justin Tipping’s debut feature, “Kicks,” is “They aren’t just shoes.” No, the shoes in question stand for something – they stand for pride and they stand for being a man and they stand for… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Kubo and the Two Strings"
Every time the lights dim in a movie theater, I hope to have a great experience. I hope that whatever it is I’m about to see somehow, in some way, raises the bar of what a film can be. Of… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Sausage Party"
The fear I have when I go into an R-rated comedy is that the R-rating won’t be used to do more than drop in extra curses (see: Zac Efron and Robert De Niro in “Dirty Grandpa). Although that is an… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Suicide Squad" (2016)
David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” (2016) begins by introducing the audience to Deadshot (Will Smith) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). Then, before long, we are introduced to them again. It is an awkward double-opening, giving the movie a very unfinished feel,… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Star Trek Beyond"
Many would argue that “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” is the high point of the “Star Trek” film franchise and certainly there is a case to be made for it. It is in fact the lofty heights reached… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Ghostbusters" (2016) and a Tangled Web of Thoughts
I take my daughter to a decent number of movies. Some are press screenings and some are regular showings, but we see a lot of movies together. She actually has a running list of what she wants to see for… Read More ›
Movie Review: "The Legend of Tarzan"
“Me, Tarzan. You, Jane.” It may not be the snappiest bit of dialogue ever, but it’s iconic. It is in fact so iconic that even though David Yates’ new movie, “The Legend of Tarzan,” features a Tarzan who has been… Read More ›
Movie Review: "The Nice Guys" (2016)
Shane Black has done fantastic things with buddy movies. “Lethal Weapon,” “The Last Boy Scout,” “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” and “Iron Man 3” all show off his writing talent and the last two offer up his directorial skills as well…. Read More ›
Movie Review: "X-Men: Apocalypse"
There are two minor spoilers below. Truthfully, I wouldn’t even classify them as spoilers, but some people out there are quite sensitive and forewarned is forearmed. At their best, the X-Men movies marry spectacle with deep philosophical discussions about how… Read More ›
Movie Review: "3rd Street Blackout"
Sometimes we have a visceral response when we sit down to watch a movie. Within the first five minutes, we get a sense that we are going to either love or loathe the film. It can be difficult to control… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Keanu" (2016)
A little more than a month ago, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” opened in movie theaters around the world. As you may recall, I was not impressed. Amongst its other problems, “BvS” takes itself far too seriously, offering up… Read More ›
Movie Review: "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice"
There are a number of complaints that have been leveled against Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel.” Outside of its tone and a distinct lack of color, they tend to deal with stuff like the director having so much destruction rain… Read More ›
Movie Review: "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2"
As much as I don’t want to oversell it, the original “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is a massive success both creatively and at the box office. According to Box Office Mojo, a production budget of $5 million turned into… Read More ›
Movie Review: "The Brothers Grimsby"
Sacha Baron Cohen has a particular brand of humor. Imagine a Venn diagram of scatological humor, sexual humor, and race/religious humor. The movies Cohen has written and starred in have a tendency to sit right at the center of that… Read More ›
Movie Review: "London has Fallen"
If you watched my IGN video about “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny” last week, you saw me lament that I was complaining that a sequel wasn’t as good as the original. I am happy today to tell you… Read More ›
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