Monthly Archives: June 2016

“Maggie’s Plan” is the best romantic comedy Woody Allen never made. A tale of pretentious academics in love, infidelity, and “Let’s get you two back together” manipulations, with plucked guitar jazz in the score and oodles of Manhattan locations, director … Continue reading →

Luis Guzman, for decades one of the funniest character actors in the movies (“Waiting…” “Yes Man”) hilariously steps into the spotlight in a comedy whose title is as deep as it ever gets — “Puerto Ricans in Paris.” It’s a … Continue reading →

  Clark, the smart, judgmental teen at the heart of “Quitters,” has a reason for being that way. His mother (Mira Sorvino) is a medicated mess, weepy, unstable and needy. She insists on driving him to a friend’s house after … Continue reading →

If you’re a film fanatic you’ve seen or heard of them — “fan films,” homages, remakes of or tributes to movies that fans are so crazy for that they want to put themselves into the experience of that world and … Continue reading →

You see them at movie premieres, at fan conventions, any place the subculture we call “fanboys” gathers. They are obsessed devotees of this TV show, that comic book or movie, people so enamored with the fantasy that they dress up … Continue reading →

He fought the law, and won. He fought Liston and Frazier and Foreman and Terrell, the U.S. government and Malcolm X. He changed religions, renounced his name and dodged the draft. He taunted, teased, boasted and bragged. He showboated, showed … Continue reading →

The reviews of Andy Samberg’s 86 minute SNL sketch “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” have been generous. And it’s not a bad time killer. The parody plays like a pulled punch, lots of raunchy semi-outrageous music videos and concert sequences … Continue reading →

Two more hours of turtle tedium come our way in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.” The effects are better, the 3D is put to better use and the opening action beat — supervillain Shredder (Brian Tee) escapes … Continue reading →

His move to Netflix has made accessing Adam Sandler movies easier than ever. As if that’s a good thing. “The Do-Over,” his latest quick and dirty, is a slapdash action comedy with more plot twists than laughs, and lots more … Continue reading →

Freed from the tutelage of his mentor, Adam Sandler, who has been relegated to making movies for Netflix, SNL alumnus Andy Samberg churns out an old-fashioned SNL character comedy. “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” is a riff on the music … Continue reading →