Yearly Archives: 2016

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 →

Sensitive child actor turned sensitive character player and leading man Anton Yelchin is the latest celebrity death in the grim gallery of 2016. Pinned against a wall by his own car, apparently. It was a Jeep Grand Cherokee, under a … Continue reading →