Monthly Archives: December 2015

An epic poem carved in flesh and written in blood, “The Revenant” is the American frontier myth as it really was — venal and brutish, murderous and vengeful. It makes for a great film, an American classic and one of … Continue reading →

“The Hateful Eight” is Quentin Tarantino’s latest genre mashup, a violent, profane and funny updating of the Golden Age of TV Westerns. Horses pulling a stagecoach pound through the snow, hard men threaten, curse each other and slap the tar … Continue reading →

Our friends at Continuity Errors Inc., also known as Moviemistakes.com, have named “Furious 7” as the most mistake prone (aka sloppiest) film of 2015. As if that was its only sin. “Jurassic World” also earned their ire. Both terrible movies, … Continue reading →

Glowing reviews (for the most part) and fan hysteria are driving “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”” to the all-time opening weekend record at the box office. A staggering $250 million+ is projected, based on Thursday night/Friday’s numbers. Better than the … Continue reading →

Above, please see the only decent sight gag in “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip.” Alvin, Simon and Theodore pose as exotic sports car hood ornaments to hide from a Federal air marshal chasing them between LA and Miami. … Continue reading →

Flip, furious and hilariously chilling, “The Big Short” is a comical primer on the global financial meltdown, as engineered by the “idiots” and “morons” of Wall Street, and the toadies who failed to rein them in. It explains, in deliciously … Continue reading →

The universe has gotten a lot more diverse in the decades since we first visited “A galaxy far far away.” And less sexist. There’s a Republic, and plenty of reminders — crashed warships, grizzled veterans — of the war that … Continue reading →

“Youth” is writer-director Paolo Sorrentino’s ode to old age, a reverie on memory and a fantasia on the last thing to go — “desire.” He gives one last great role to Michael Caine, one more shot at not seeming streetwise … Continue reading →

They’re the funniest comic duo since Lemmon and Matthau. Who cares if their best work was co-hosting awards shows? Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, ex-“Saturday Night Live” bandmates, funny women so utterly in sync as to be matching halves of … Continue reading →

All winning streaks must end, and you can’t say Jennifer Lawrence and David O. Russell (and Bradley Cooper) haven’t had a good run. “Joy,” their third collaboration, is no “American Hustle” or “Silver Linings Playbook.” This is the Russell of … Continue reading →