Daily Archives: January 7, 2013

Let’s call it “The Year in Stinkers.” Though we could say that about the worst of the worst in any given year at the movies. Statistically, Hollywood has an easy time of it, making hundreds of films, of which scores … Continue reading →

    I’ve had my share of film classes, seen more than my share of History of Film documentaries, own a pretty generous collection of history of film books, but I cannot recall ever seeing the first-ever “closeup” in a … Continue reading →

When his “Sopranos” boss David Chase asked James Gandolfini to play another New Jersey Italian for his movie, a working class dad unhappy with his musician-son’s career choice in the swinging ‘60s, the big man didn’t hesitate. “I knew this … Continue reading →

Nobody really knew Matthew Broderick could sing, back in the early ’90s. Still, it’s a little bit of a surprise to recall that Disney used somebody else to do his crooning in 1994’s “The Lion King.” A year later, Broderick … Continue reading →

If his stage act is any indication, tightwad Kevin Hart was checking ticket sales all weekend long when “Laugh at My Pain” opened — over $20,000 per screen, 97 screens — a $2 million opening weekend.

If you want to make your getaway, you need to play it cool. No squealing tires. No panic at the first sign of the police. You need to stick to the speed limit. You need to know when to pull … Continue reading →

Equal measures smug and savage, Rod Lurie’s infuriating remake of Sam Peckinpah’s vengeance thriller “Straw Dogs” still packs a visceral punch. An exploitation picture built on redneck cliches and big city liberal outrage, it’s not all bad. But it is … Continue reading →

“Senna” is a racing documentary that takes us into the jittery, jumpy, nerve-wracking driver’s seat of Formula 1 race cars of the 1980s and 90s. More interestingly, it gives us access to the sometimes acrimonious driver’s meetings of the day, … Continue reading →

The story of how Winter, a New Smyrna Beach dolphin, lost her tail and became the star attraction of the Clearwater Aquarium becomes an adorable kids’ film in “Dolphin Tale.”

“Killer Elite” is a guy’s movie and makes no bones about it. It’s an old-school straight-no-chaser action picture about an ex-CIA agent who hunts down assorted troopers from the British Special Forces to save an American agent from a vengeful … Continue reading →