Monthly Archives: June 2014

We only hear his voice, running underneath mugshot photos and the occasional bit of silent black and white surveillance footage. Convicted crime boss and murderer Whitey Bulger comes off as articulate and calm, with that polished voice having a “Who, … Continue reading →

In “Drones,” a man and a woman sit in an air conditioned trailer in Nevada, working joysticks and making life-or-death decisions about the people they’re keeping an eye-in-the-sky on, eight thousand miles away.One’s the pilot, the other the officer in … Continue reading →

I remember that Siskel & Ebert were the first guys to alert me to the wonders of the great basketball documentary “Hoop Dreams.” So it’s fitting that Steve James, who directed it, did the interviews and directed the Ebert biographical … Continue reading →

Octogenarian Clint Eastwood’s take on the Broadway musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, “Jersey Boys,” isn’t generating much love from America’s movie critics. With a no-star cast, songs fifty years past their pop expiration date (Don’t give me … Continue reading →

The French culinary comedy “Le Chef” is not to be confused with the delicious and more substantial Jon Favreau farce “Chef,” in theaters at the same time. “Le Chef” is a 2012 French film, coincidentally released just as Favreau’s comedy … Continue reading →

Sequels, as “22 Jump Street” joked, are always “the same, only worse.”So any pretense of insight into the battle of the sexes and any real connection to stand-up comic turned self-appointed relationships expert Steve Harvey’s book, “Act Like a Lady, … Continue reading →

Google the phrase “Abortion Comedy” and all the entries point you to one film — “Obvious Child.” “Finally, a romantic comedy about abortion,” raves the Los Angeles Times, among others. Then, there are the attacks — from the right wing … Continue reading →

Whatever charms turned the musical “Jersey Boys” into a Tony winning Broadway hit are sorely missed in Clint Eastwood’s tone deaf corpse of a movie. Late to the game, blandly cast and scripted with every Italian American cliche in the … Continue reading →