Monthly Archives: October 2014

Bill Murray’s annual aim for the Oscars? Melissa McCarthy’s redemption for “Tammy”? Oh I hope so. Kid living with his mom, parents divorced, befriends the engaging layabout who lives next door. Naomi Watts also stars. “St. Vincent” opens in limited … Continue reading →

Consider the phrase “Rockwell crackles.” It’s often turned up in reviews of Sam Rockwell’s film performances over the years, in Amber Wilkinson’s plug for his latest, “Laggies,” in London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, for instance. All that crackling comes by design … Continue reading →

Yes, we know who he used to be married to.  But there’s considerably more to Ryan Phillippe than who his ex is. He’s been in ensemble hits such as “Gosford Park” and “Crash,” “The Bang Bang Club,” “Stop Loss,” he … Continue reading →

I figured I’d be a bit of an outlier as far as reviews go for David Fincher’s latest. “Gone Girl” is a fairly tricky thriller in which the director of “Zodiac” and “Social Network” never really grabs because he gives … Continue reading →

“Left Behind” is Rapture-fiction as a dull zombie movie where the living dead are non-believers. The Christian faithful have disappeared, all over the world. That moment, 32 minutes into director Vic Armstrong’s film, is this remake’s lone grabber. A college … Continue reading →

“Pride,” the feel-good movie of the fall, is an utterly charming British reminder that there’s nothing scarier to politicians than when seemingly incompatible electorates discover their common interests. Those who want us divided don’t want us to remember that “united … Continue reading →

The Weinstein Co. has been going longer and longer stretches between breakout hits. Even a niche studio needs the occasional “King’s Speech” to boost that bottom line, and they aren’t getting them. So their deal with Netflix to distribute what … Continue reading →

Ridley Scott recreates ancient Egypt, perhaps fudging or blundering the dates of Jewish enslavement there, and pits Christian Bale as Moses vs. Joel Edgerton as Pharoah, with Ben Kingsley as the one who recognizes “The Chosen One.” Or in this … Continue reading →

A child’s crayon rolls across a floor. Curtains fly back from a window you thought was closed. A TV-distracted seamstress looks at her late model sewing machine less and less as the camera zooms closer and closer to that naked … Continue reading →

“Gone Girl” is David “Zodiac” Fincher’s seriously twisted, twisty-turny adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s novel about a husband accused of killing his wife, first by the outrage engine known as cable news, and then by the cops. But that’s only ostensibly … Continue reading →