Monthly Archives: October 2013

The last “Jackass” movie opened at over $50 million. But then, it was in 3D. This has been a banner year for R-rated comedies. Even mediocre ones like “The Heat” and “We’re the Millers” have cleaned up, clearing $100 million. … Continue reading →

Strip the danger out of “Borat” and the injuries out of “Jackass” and you’ve got a bead on “Bad Grandpa,” a fitfully funny, semi-scripted “Jackass” outing built around elaborately staged pranks played on the unsuspecting. Johnny Knoxville dons old age … Continue reading →

An Oscar nomination for Naomi Watts as Princess Diana? We’ll see soon enough. This one focuses on the last couple of years of her life, her great love and that fellow she died in that car crash with.

He popped up in “Son of Rambow,” and had the title role in “Hugo.” Now the young Brit Asa Butterfield has the lead in a possible sci-fi franchise — “Ender’s Game.” He plays Orson Scott Card’s teen trained for combat … Continue reading →

Two mothers, grieving over their dead teenage sons, bond and then begin to wonder if the other’s son wasn’t responsible for their child’s death in “Torn,” a modest, emotionally lacking melodrama built around big themes and hot button issues.Mahnoor Baloch … Continue reading →

The actual box office figures provided from last weekend lowered several films’ take for the weekend, chief among them “Carrie,” which only cleared $16 million, not $17. “Captain Phillips” only lost a third of its opening weekend audience on its … Continue reading →

James Toback knows the Hollywood dance. He’s a 40 year veteran of the business, a writer (“Bugsy,” “The Gambler”) and writer-director (“Fingers,””The Pick-Up Artist”) of some repute. As he approaches his sixty-ninth birthday, he knows the struggle it takes to … Continue reading →

Costa-Gavras, that legendary lefty of the international cinema, is on message and but somewhat off his game with the French drama “Capital,” a mildly entertaining sermon about American “Cowboy Capitalism” as it rubs up against “The French Way.”It’s a modestly … Continue reading →

Say this for “Blue is the Warmest Color”, the Cannes award winner that is as famous for its long, explicit sex scenes as it is for its honors and actresses. It earns the NC-17 rating the MPAA imposed on it. … Continue reading →