Monthly Archives: February 2016

The typical horror movie can be labeled a success if it manages to jolt you a couple of times, and get the hairs on the back of your neck up here and there. But “The Witch” works in less visceral, … Continue reading →

The cinema produces so few romantic comedies that work that it’s not just a shame, it’s a crime, when one gets out unnoticed. “Slow Learners” is laugh-out-loud funny, at turns cruel and raunchy, playful and wistful. It doesn’t star anyone … Continue reading →

A $41 million take on Friday hints that the R-rated comic book adaptation “Deadpool” is headed toward some sort of Feb. record. Better than “Fifty Shades,” anyway. $100 million+ by Sunday, a four day weekend take of $115, says Deadline.com. … Continue reading →

A mixed weekend for movies, as we’ve learned to expect from February. The Oscar contenders, most moviegoers have seen. But studios don’t waste  potential blockbusters on the deep winter doldrums. Thus, movies like “Ghostrider” and “Kingsmen” and (better) “The Lego … Continue reading →

Dakota Johnson happily slinks into the shadow of Rebel Wilson for “How to be Single,” a raunchy romantic comedy romp that comes up just short on all of those labels. As in not raunchy enough, not remotely romantic, plenty funny, … Continue reading →

Soldiers, loaded with gear and dressed in camo, depart for a mission in Afghanistan. They’re to search a village, question the locals about Taliban in the area. Shots are fired. Soldiers are hurt, others are shaken by the stress. But … Continue reading →

“Zoolander 2” is funnier than any terrible movie has any right to be. A “high concept comedy” from the days when those were a thing, it’s basically a cacophony of cameos and random sight gags hurled at the viewer in … Continue reading →

Not gonna lie. I laughed out loud — more than once — at “Standoff.” The trash talk in this Mexican (Midwestern) “standoff” thriller is tasty, the hit-man threats even tastier. “Take a good look,” the hitman (Laurence Fishburne) tells the … Continue reading →

It’s hard to fall in love with — or even like — Edith Welland. Hell, it’s almost impossible. Self-absorbed and scattered, cute but not gorgeous, perky but resentful and mean, she’s a Toronto actress with four years of failure under … Continue reading →

First of all, don’t be late for “Deadpool.” There are more funny lines and opening credit sight gags in this than most comedies have in their full running time. It was “directed by some overpaid tool,” it co-stars “a CGI … Continue reading →