ABBOTT (WITHOUT COSTELLO) MEETS MARTIN AND LEWIS!
The new DVD/Blu-ray release Abbott & Costello Rarities more than lives up to its title. Portions of this material have appeared on previous DVD releases of The Abbott and Costello Show, but not in...
View ArticleSICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO
Sicario sneaked up on moviegoers and critics alike in the latter part of 2015, earning excellent reviews and ultimately finding its audience online. This sequel reunites two of its stars (Josh Brolin...
View ArticleLEAVE NO TRACE: ONE OF THIS YEAR’S BEST
Debra Granik is an exceptional filmmaker. Her output is small but each film is resolute and genuine. Her latest, Leave No Trace, maintains the high standards she set with Down to the Bone, which...
View ArticleANT-MAN AND THE WASP: PURE ENTERTAINMENT
Ant-man is one of my favorite Marvel movies: it’s lighthearted but takes its origin story seriously. Every piece fits together, and by the time it’s done you’ve got a seemingly complicated jigsaw...
View ArticleDON’T WORRY, HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT
Joaquin Phoenix gives another incredible performance in this excellent new film from Gus Van Sant. The actor is a true chameleon and always believable. Here, he plays the late John Callahan, a talented...
View ArticleMAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN—INDEED!
I can’t think of another recent movie title that serves as its own review. If you say it just right, you’ll get the idea: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Mind you, I enjoyed the screen adaptation of the...
View ArticleLOVE, CECIL
I’ve known Cecil Beaton’s name ever since I saw Gigi as a kid and enjoyed his exquisite costume and production design. I later learned that he was a celebrated artist and photographer as well as a...
View ArticleMISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — TOM CRUISE IS REALLY GOOD AT RUNNING
The newest Mission: Impossible movie lives up to its title with action scenes that are so spectacular—and preposterous—that it’s hard to know which ones to take seriously. Two highlights are an...
View ArticlePUZZLE: A WELCOME STARRING ROLE FOR KELLY MACDONALD
Based on a 2009 Argentinian film called Rompecabezas, this pleasing story serves as a starring vehicle for the wonderful Kelly Macdonald. Like the character she plays (a devoted wife and mother who...
View ArticleANT-MAN AND THE WASP: PURE ENTERTAINMENT
Ant-man is one of my favorite Marvel movies: it’s lighthearted but takes its origin story seriously. Every piece fits together, and by the time it’s done you’ve got a seemingly complicated jigsaw...
View ArticleCHRISTOPHER ROBIN: SWEET AS HONEY
The word “charm” doesn’t apply to very many movies these days, but it’s precisely that quality—and an avoidance of treacly sentiment—that makes the new Disney feature Christopher Robin so enjoyable....
View ArticleBLACKkKLANSMAN: POTENT AND POWERFUL
Spike Lee is an audacious filmmaker who crosses boundaries and deliberately blurs drama and reality. Never has this been more effective than in BlacKkKlansman, which defies a number of rules and offers...
View ArticleCRAZY RICH ASIANS: YET ANOTHER BREAKTHROUGH
It’s a bit unsettling to review a movie that has so much riding on it: its producers and studio (Warner Bros.) are eager to see if the Asian-American community—and moviegoers in general—will support...
View ArticleTHE WIFE: GREAT ACTORS SAVE THE DAY
Watching Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce is a treat, and the details in Björn Runge’s production are so convincing that it wasn’t until the film was over that I found myself pondering its credibility....
View ArticleINSPIRATION IN A NEIGHBORHOOD LANDMARK: RESTORING TOMORROW
Aaron Wolf grew up attending the historic Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. It had special meaning because his grandfather was one of the senior rabbis, filling the giant footsteps of Rabbi...
View ArticleTHE HAPPYTIME MURDERS: WHODUNIT…AND WHO CARES?
As a lifelong Muppet fan, I root for anything the Jim Henson company turns its attention to, with or without the Muppets. Jim’s son Brian Henson directed this parody of hard-boiled film noir murder...
View ArticleTHE BOOKSHOP: SLOW GOING
If you enjoy watching Emily Mortimer at work, as I do, you’ll get something out of The Bookshop, but the film itself is an odd duck. Adapted from a novel by Penelope Fitzgerald by writer-director...
View ArticleTHE OLD MAN & THE GUN
I’ve always enjoyed watching Robert Redford onscreen, and although he’s no longer a youngster he retains every bit of the star quality that blossomed sixty years ago. The Old Man & the Gun is a...
View ArticleA STAR ISN’T BORN
The best compliment I can give the new version of A Star is Born is that I didn’t mind it. I’ve done my best to avoid previews and hype in order to view it with fresh eyes, and I think it’s pretty...
View ArticleBEAUTIFUL BOY
Standout performances by Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet make Beautiful Boy worthwhile and earmark it as Oscar material. It also has the novelty of being adapted from dual best-selling memoirs,...
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