Monthly Archives: April 2016

“Papa Hemingway in Cuba,” the “first Hollywood feature shot in Cuba since The Revolution,” gives us a portrait of the great writer in decline, a man of human dimensions. This isn’t the Ernest Hemingway of myth, though he’s certainly living … Continue reading →

Whatever quality it was that made Dave Eggers the “It Boy” of American literature ever since the modestly-titled “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” plum evades big screen translation in “A Hologram for the King.” A misshapen, aimless midlife crisis … Continue reading →

One LA woman, a sometime actress and producer, remembers stepping over this listless, very elderly homeless woman sitting on the curb of Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. Another woman, a sometime producer, endured a chewing out by the old lady … Continue reading →

It’s shaping up as another epic weekend for Disney’s latest take on “The Jungle Book.” The Jon Favreau-directed blockbuster looks to haul in another $62-64 million, based on a big Friday turnout. Saturdays are always the big days for kids’ … Continue reading →

The best thrillers blast through fear and demand action. They drag you to the edge of your seat. They make you shout at the screen, or at least mutter your response to whatever life-threatening scenario is unfolding before you. You’re … Continue reading →

August is, realistically, the first crack in the window of “Oscar season,” when movies with any sort of buzz/potential open with hopes of having the legs to stick around to October. The story of McDonald’s empire builder Ray Kroc, starring … Continue reading →

For all the near photo-realism of today’s generation of computer-generated effects, there’s still something to be said for old-fashioned, tactile costumes and make-up, for real settings and real scenery. Want to show an ogre? Dress up a very tall man, … Continue reading →

The Filmmakers’ Generation has but a handful of saints. More than a few of them are Italian-American. Most have had to fall back on their reputations in recent years. Some got too rich to keep working. Some tried to do … Continue reading →

Even Kristen Stewart knew the world was in no need of a sequel to that dreary “Snow White and the Huntsman” movie she made. But being pointless turns out to be the least of the shortcomings of “The Huntsman: Winter’s … Continue reading →

It’s just a tiny slice of pop culture trivia, meaningless in the greater historical sagas of the lives of The President and The King. But you can’t look at that photo of Elvis Presley meeting Richard Nixon in The Oval … Continue reading →