Monthly Archives: May 2016

Wit, provocateur, satirist and social gadfly — “I’m famous,” Frank Zappa liked to say, “but most people don’t know what I do.” He made his living as a performer and band-leader of the Mothers of Invention, conjuring up dissonant orchestrations, … Continue reading →

Oscar winner Dianne Wiest and “Selma” star David Oleyowo clash ever-so-quietly around the edges of grief in the short and somber “Five Nights in Maine.” The debut feature of writer-director Maris Curran aims for cryptic, and she gives us only … Continue reading →

If romantic comedies were easy, Hollywood would be churning them out like comic book adaptations. But they aren’t. That magical blend of wit, warmth, chemistry and comedy evades pretty much everybody who sets out to make the perfect “date movie.” … Continue reading →

Apparently, parents are a bit shrewder about reading reviews than weekend box office prognosticators thought. Predictions that “The Angry Birds Movie” would earn a typical-for-3D animation $45 million on its opening weekend went by the wayside on Saturday, the most … Continue reading →

A bad weekend for any potential re-launch of Russell Crowe’s big screen career. That April “Saturday Night Live” bombing is followed by a somewhat over-rated, financially underwhelming “Nice Guys” opening weekend. Great, or at least consistently positive reviews aren’t helping … Continue reading →

But let’s start with “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” the sequel to the Seth Rogen/Rose Byrne fading hipster/stoner parents in revolt against their new frat bro neighbors. Passable reviews were garnered for the sequel, which sets out to prove college girls … Continue reading →

Warning signs that you may not have enough money to film a “heist” picture. If the only place to set the “bank” your gang of actors is knocking over is the low-rent warehouse district. Where there would never be a … Continue reading →

The totalitarianism of Tribalism is skewered without anesthetic in the darkly unpleasant satire “The Lobster,” a film about couples and loners and the ways they enforce their norms on others. Then again, maybe not. The latest obscure musings by Greek … Continue reading →

Girls, parents may argue, are “twice as much trouble as boys.” So a movie about partying sorority sisters would have to offer double the trouble of one about frat bros. That’s the logic behind “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.” It has … Continue reading →

Why, exactly? Dead horse and all.