Monthly Archives: December 2014

Character actor Paul Schneider earns a great showcase for his quirky brand of befuddled reserve in “Goodbye to All That,” an offbeat romance about sudden divorce, hiding in the past and “getting back out there” in a dating scene twisted … Continue reading →

“Annie,” a musical that the decades have rendered into a punchline, is modernized, made more streetwise and brought back to life in a production backed by Jay Z and various members of the Will and Jada Pinkett Smith empire. The … Continue reading →

So, 2014 in film — a good year for movies, or a weak one? Well, any calendar year that packs two must-see genre-benders starring Scarlett Johansson — you read that right — can’t be all bad. “Under the Skin” and “Lucy” … Continue reading →

No matter what the beer distributors and limo drivers of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association say, honoring the young star with the title role with a nomination, I don’t have high hopes for this “Annie” updating. The original was creaky … Continue reading →

“Exodus: Gods and Kings,” the entertaining, action-packed Ridley Scott epic about the (mythic) Jewish escape from slavery in Egypt, was always going to have a hard time reaching the faithful. It’s not airy-fairy mystical like “Noah,” but its Biblical literalness … Continue reading →

It’s not unusual for a documentary filmmaker to keep herself out of the story he or she is telling, even if the filmmaker is asking questions of the subject of the movie. But there’s something special about Laura Poitras’s self-omission … Continue reading →

He’s got two Oscars and is Tarantino’s go to villain or anti hero. He’s the new Bond villain. He’s the grinning Teutonic beast we all love to hate. But Christoph Waltz’s best work might be charming sweet little Amy Adams … Continue reading →

Ridley Scott’s Biblical epic had critics — what, exactly? Missing “The Ten Commandments” (I could see that), mocking the idea that the voice Moses hears at the Burning Bush is actually a testy little British boy, disliking being reminding of … Continue reading →

He’s an entrepreneur, actor with some clout and a former pop star (rapper seems an exaggeration) in search of pardons for his rough and violent and criminal teen years. The last item will be old news by the time my … Continue reading →