Monthly Archives: June 2015

Hollywood pariahdom has many causes but one unmistakable effect. The pariah struggles on, working in smaller and smaller films until oblivion sets in, or cable TV offers a resurrection. Katherine Heigl diva-bombed her way off the acting A-list. But she’s … Continue reading →

Those looking for villains in the obscenely short life of British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse will find a few in “Amy,” the new documentary about her life and death. Director Asif Kapadia had the gloves off for his much-honored 2010 doc … Continue reading →

Channing Tatum’s deja vu in “Magic Mike XXL” has less to do with the film it’s a sequel to,”Magic Mike,” than with the film that launched his career. “Magic Mike II” is basically “Step Up: The Stripping Years.” It’s still … Continue reading →

November 15, 2013 has to rank up there with the day the Allies liberated Paris and Neil Armstrong’s 1969 walk on the moon as one of the happiest days in modern human history. That was Batkid Day, when San Francisco … Continue reading →

“Semper fidelis,” the Romans used to purr into their dogs’ ears, long before the Marine Corps adopted the Latin for “Always faithful” as their motto. Most faithful of all? Marine Corps war dogs. That’s the message of “Max,” a pleasant … Continue reading →

So, Alan Rickman, what did you know about Louis XIV of France before playing him and directing a movie about the creation of a verdant outdoor ballroom in the gardens of Versailles Palace? “Wigs,” the director of “A Little Chaos” … Continue reading →

An 18th century Swedish nobleman rides a horse into a bar. Thus started no joke anyone ever heard or told. But it’s a high point in Roy Andersson’s “A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence,” so stay with … Continue reading →

Asif Kapadia wishes Amy Winehouse had “just gotten out of London, out of Camden, away from the people, the drugs and that scene, and TRAVELED to where she wasn’t famous.” But it didn’t happen, and Winehouse was dead — not … Continue reading →

The acquired taste that is Seth MacFarlane is harder to acquire and the one joke in his one-joke comedy about the pot-smoking/potty-mouthed teddy bear wears thin in the endless two hours of “Ted 2.” Really, if you’ve seen one f-bomb … Continue reading →