Monthly Archives: August 2016

The animation sparkles and delights in its detail, caricatures and computer-generated colors and craft. The setting is novel and seriously silly — a supermarket, where the food and household items can only live their lives — out in the open, … Continue reading →

In all her years of making movies, the one thing the undeniably brilliant Meryl Streep has never attempted is playing dotty — a dope. So now that she’s nearing that certain age, why not try her hand at a sort … Continue reading →

The Texas Dilemma is a delicious subtext lurking just beneath the surface of “Hell or High Water,” a terrific heist picture about brother-bankrobbers out to save-the-family-farm. Everybody in this “Last Picture Show” corner of West Texas hates the banks. “Been … Continue reading →

“Anthropoid” is a historical thriller about the efforts of a handful of Czechs to kill the murderous Nazi overlord of their country during World War II. It’s a riveting story artfully told, a magnificent movie about brave men undertaking a … Continue reading →

Disney’s re-imagining of its lightweight 1977 kids’ film “Pete’s Dragon” high-mindedly aims high — for a movie about an orphan boy raised in the woods of the Pacific Northwest by a dragon. Co-writer/director David Lowery is no Steven Spielberg (Who … Continue reading →

  In “Nine Lives,” the director of the “Men in Black” and “Get Shorty” movies turned filmdom’s special effects wizards loose on the most challenging bit of fakery ever attempted in a movie. They digitized a cat so that they … Continue reading →

“Edge of Winter” enters my field of vision with a natural advantage. It’s my kind of story — gritty, woodsy, with a hint of survivalism about it. There’s still a vicarious thrill in experiencing wilderness through those trapped in a … Continue reading →

When British theatre critic Michael Coveney first published “Maggie Smith:  A Biography,” back in the mid-90s, he and she must have had every reason to believe he was summing up an acting life well-lived, and fully lived. But that was … Continue reading →

This summer’s hits and misses can seem like surprises if you go by things like reviews, muted fan buzz pre-release, limited feedback on reviews and stories about the films on blogs and the like. But Hollywood creative accounting can balance … Continue reading →

  There’s much to love in the latest adaptation of the beloved Antoine de Saint-Exupéry novella “The Little Prince”, an animated marvel by Mark Osborne, whose “Kung Fu Panda” (the original) was more visually inventive than you might remember. A stunning blend … Continue reading →