Monthly Archives: November 2016

The wonders never cease in J.K. Rowling’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” Or maybe it just feels that way. Two hours and thirteen minutes of Rowling’s endless introductions of new critters, new magic tricks and new wizarding world … Continue reading →

The first question of any chess movie, as with any chess match, is “How will this surprise us?” “Magnus,” about “The Mozart of Chess,” Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen, asks “Why bother?” If you haven’t heard of him, didn’t read the … Continue reading →

A century of “fight pictures” means that there’s really nothing new, visually, that filmmakers can show us in the ring. So “Bleed for This” director Ben Younger concentrated, instead, on sound. He deafens us with the tinnitus of a knock-out, … Continue reading →

Style trumps story and performance in Tom Ford’s “Nocturnal Creatures,” an arch film noir wrapped in the plastic of art world aesthetics, and damn near smothered by them. The second film from the fashion designer and former creative director for … Continue reading →

Remove yourself far enough from NASCAR country and you won’t have any trouble identifying “the greatest rivalry in the history of racing.” That would be gigantic global car builder Ford vs. Italian bespoke racing works Ferrari, a rivalry that dominated … Continue reading →

Does the world really need ANOTHER Alfred Hitchcock biography? After the hundreds of thousands of words by his more-or-less autobiographers (Francois Truffaut, Peter Bogdanovick, chief among them) who interviewed him in person and added analysis, of others from Robin Wood … Continue reading →

It’s “Almost Christmas” at the box office, and the modestly funny African American “family” comedy — with infidelity and drinking and just a little swearing — is doing well enough. It’s not earning Madea money, but $15 million or so, … Continue reading →

The black child they call “little” is the one the other kids beat up and bully. He’s shy and quiet. His eyes spend most of their time pointed at the ground. He has the look of a beaten dog punished … Continue reading →

Warren Beatty isn’t very interested in Howard Hughes, the man. He announces as much with an opening credit for his Hughes comedy, “Rules Don’t Apply.” “Never check an interesting fact,” he quotes Hughes as saying. Did he actually say that? … Continue reading →

If the future of cinema is Chinese, as the single party state emerges as the world’s top box office market, then perhaps the time is right for more Chinese hits — films built for domestic consumption — to enjoy international … Continue reading →