After the dark backgrounded opening titles, “Arctic” opens on an exceptionally bright scene. People may blink and turn away as their eyes adjust to this new reality. It is the only time during the entire affair that they will turn… Read More ›
movies
Movie Review: “The Kid who Would be King
Whether it is “The Goonies” or “WarGames” or “E.T.” or “Labyrinth” or “Flight of the Navigator” or any number of other movies, the 1980s were a great time for a kid to watch other kids on the big screen and fall… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened”
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines schadenfreude as “enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others.” It is an idea that will be in the viewer’s minds well before the Chris Smith documentary, “Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened,” discusses anything remotely… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Glass” (2019)
For better or for worse, but certainly by his design, M. Night Shyamalan’s films are largely defined by their “twist,” that moment late in the movie where the story is suddenly turned on its ear, forcing the audience to reassess… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Vice” (2018)
In case anyone is unsure prior to that moment, in its final minutes, writer/director Adam McKay’s “Vice” lays the problems of today’s world squarely at Dick Cheney’s feet. The preceding two hours aren’t incredibly kind to the man, but the summation… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Welcome to Marwen”
Robert Zemeckis’s “Welcome to Marwen’ opens with a waxy-looking Steve Carell flying over Belgium during the Second World War. He is Cap’n Hogie, and soon finds himself on foot and ambushed by Nazis. The sequence is beautiful, but there is… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Bumblebee”
What if there were a “Transformers” live-action movie that was actually good? A movie where the story made sense, where there were some good emotional beats, where there were some decent laughs, where the audience could discern what was going… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes”
More than halfway through the Alexis Bloom documentary, “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes,” an interesting question comes to the fore – did Roger Ailes believe the stories he had Fox News peddle, or was he just in… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Hunter Killer”
Movies about the U.S. military tend to fall into two categories: triumphant stories focusing on hardship that is overcome, and tales that focus more on the evils of war and that which comes after. I say “tend to” because every… Read More ›
Movie Review: “First Man” (2018)
Damien Chazelle’s “First Man,” has some of the most outstanding cinematic visuals I have seen in a long time. The sequences on the moon, particularly in IMAX, are stunning, but even that doesn’t do them justice. They are completely mesmerizing… Read More ›
Movie Review: “The Predator”
What does a “Predator” movie look like when the Predator is all too often irrelevant to the proceedings? Well, you can see for yourself on Friday with the release of the Shane Black directed “The Predator.” To be sure, that… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Peppermint” (2018)
Jennifer Garner’s abilities as an action hero have been known to the public since she first starred on “Alias” more than 15 years ago. Watching her return to a role that requires that sort of physicality is unquestionably the best… Read More ›
Movie Review: “The Happytime Murders”
In “The Muppets Take Manhattan,” Kermit the Frog gets amnesia. Not remembering who he is, Kermit creates a new identity, Phillip Phil, and he enters the world of advertising where he comes up with the unique idea to simply tell… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Support the Girls”
Written and directed by Andrew Bujalski, “Support the Girls” largely takes place in a Hooters-esque establishment. That is, the waitresses are scantily clad and the majority of people who dine there, the supposition goes, are there to ogle the women,… Read More ›
Movie Review: “BlacKkKlansman”
Stories told about the past often have subtle, or not so subtle, messages for the present. This is certainly true of Spike Lee’s latest joint, “BlacKkKlansman.” Written by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Lee, “BlacKkKlansman” is… Read More ›
Movie Review: “The Darkest Minds”
In one of the worst moments of “The Darkest Minds,” a film which is on the whole pretty dismal, the lead male teen, Liam, asks the lead female teen, Ruby, to dance. Ruby says no and rather than taking that… Read More ›
Movie Review: “The First Purge”
The third “Purge” movie, “The Purge: Election Year,” effectively forced the franchise to head in a (or another) new direction and so it has, with the latest entry offering up the tale of “The First Purge.” Although the film is… Read More ›
Movie Review: “American Animals”
There is some distinctly different about “American Animals,” the new movie from writer-director Bart Layton. Where the film, which is the based on the true story of four college students who formulate a plan to steal valuable books from an… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Mary Shelley”
We all like to have explanations, to understand where people are coming from. This is certainly the case with a biopic – they afford the opportunity to get to know, even if in fictionalized fashion, how an author came up… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Deadpool 2”
At the outset of the first “Deadpool” movie we are promised that it is a story of love. And so it is. In similar fashion “Deadpool 2” promises us it is a story of family. And so it is… kind of…. Read More ›
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