Monthly Archives: June 2017

If nothing else, the new bio pic “Churchill” can be appreciated for taking the marble bust that history has made of the man, and Conservatives have worshipped, and knocking it on the floor. This isn’t his “finest hour,” but a … Continue reading →

They’re both ancient history, at least in the pop culture sense, but it’s helpful to remember that Daphne du Maurier was Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite novelist when you’re watching “My Cousin Rachel.” Hitchcock filmed her romantic mysteries “The Birds, ” “Jamaica … Continue reading →

  The has-been movie star has just dropped by his favorite weed supplier when there’s a knock at the door. The other customer strolls in, and gives the old man a wary double-take. “Don’t worry, he’s cool,” the dealer says. … Continue reading →

We’ve long loved tales of surviving the apocalypse, whatever form doomsday takes — viral, nuclear, asteroid, aliens or zombies. But few stories built on theme embrace the dehumanizing fatalism of living on when everyone around you is dead better than “It … Continue reading →

Scores of documentaries and features films touch on the Iraq War. And out of all them, maybe one moving scene– the funeral convoy of the “American Sniper.” But show us a Marine and her dog, and on come the waterworks. … Continue reading →

Over a decade ago, I hung around director Patty Jenkins on the set of “Monster” as she steered Charlize Theron to an Academy Award winning performance,  but also kept the likes of Christina Ricci and Bruce Dern happy as she … Continue reading →

I was lukewarm on “Wonder Woman,” a bit bored by the plot and effects. We’re all root-root-rooting for Warners and DC to make a game of it with Disney’s Marvel juggernaut, and but come on. Got to Rotten Tomatoes. It’s … Continue reading →

All genre pictures pander, serving up conventions and cliches that faithful horror, romance, comic book or “Furious” fans relish and devour like comfort food. So why not a European travelogue about a lonely wife “seeing” France for the first time? And … Continue reading →

Love Kenneth Branagh and all that, always impressed when a movie rounds up Dame Judi, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Depp and…Josh Gad for the cast. Derek Jacobi, Branagh’s Hector Elizondo, is here. But this looks like a … Continue reading →

Adults sentenced to sitting through yet another animated film with their kids look for one thing in the experience — a hint of anarchy, a taste of Looney Tunes mayhem and wit. Kids? They’re waiting for the pooped-my-pants, teacher humiliated … Continue reading →