Monthly Archives: June 2016

Steven Spielberg reunites with his “E.T.” screenwriter to adapt Roald Dahl’s “The BFG,” which stands for “Big, Friendly Giant.” He cast his “Bridge of Spies” Oscar winner, Mark Rylance, in the title role, and showcases the current state-of-the-motion-capture-animation art in … Continue reading →

I’ve been a fan of the tall, imposing Irish actor Ciarán Hinds at least since “Persuasion,”perhaps my favorite Jane Austen adaptation. His quiet, vulnerable and austere turn in that one – he’s a soldier in love with the heroine, but … Continue reading →

“Independence Day: Resurgence” is all big effects, big explosions, epic battles rendered in state-of-the-art digital strokes.  But really bad writing, achingly bad acting, groaning scenes and a serious lack of suspense and surprise all add up to zero fun, this … Continue reading →

A sentimental documentary about a race horse and the little town that bred and raced him, “Dark Horse” is a feel-good movie that sneaks up on you, even if you know what’s coming. Because it’s not just about a moody, … Continue reading →

You’d think that the vital but thankless and tedious process of editing a book wouldn’t make much of a movie. And you’d be right. “Genius,” about the greatest editor of them all, Maxwell Perkins, is all dimly-lit offices, train rides … Continue reading →

The road to the “Free State of Jones” is paved with good intentions. Ambitious, with a vivid turn by Matthew McConaughey in the lead role, its also timely, a story worth telling and remembering. But the film woven out of … Continue reading →

Blake Lively, a swimsuit and a shark — that’s all the titillation and terror most of us will ever want. “The Shallows” turns out to be just what the summer cinema needed, a little reminder to be afraid to go … Continue reading →

An important, hot-button topic gets an amusing, convincing if cursory treatment in “Can We Take a Joke?”, a documentary about the war on free speech in America. It’s not a film about government censorship or old-school State Sponsored Religion restrictions … Continue reading →

It happened for John Wayne the first time John Ford tracked in on him,close-up, in “Stagecoach.” Steven Spielberg made sure it happened for Harrison Ford when he copied that shot in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” And it just might … Continue reading →

“Nuts!” is a comical documentary exploration of Americana, a piece of Great Depression history playfully related with animation and tongue planted firmly in cheek. It’s about a Great American, a visionary almost forgotten today, Dr. John Romulus Brinkley, whose impotence … Continue reading →