Monthly Archives: July 2017

Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Oprah, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mindy Kaling, Michael Pena, Zach Galifianakis — all in service of a big screen rendition of Madeleine L’Engle’s novel. “Wrinkle” opens next May. Very Harry Potter-ish from its look, in the way it … Continue reading →

“Lord, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small.”

It’s great to see Gerard Butler take a break from mind-numbing action franchises, lame sword and sorcery flicks and decades of failed comedies and try something new. But it must be the luck of the Scots that when he does … Continue reading →

A big Thursday night and bigger Friday puts the last “Planet of the Apes” movie of this trilogy, “War for the Planet of the Apes,” into “King Kong” (“Skull Island”) territory — a $55 million opening weekend, based on the … Continue reading →

In “Dunkirk,” perhaps this year’s earliest Best Picture Contender, a flight of RAF pilots make a crossing to keep the Stukas from strafing “our lads” on the beaches, awaiting their fate. Tom Hardy is in a Spitfire, and Jack Lowden. … Continue reading →

The third and supposedly final film in the latest “Planet of the Apes” franchise is expected, by Fox, the producing studio, to turn out $50 million in ticket sales its opening weekend. That would probably open it in second place, … Continue reading →

You’re going to see this hyped/fanboy-girl pandering poster in theater lobbies all across America this weekend. Don’t you believe it. I’ve seen “The Movie of the Summer.” It doesn’t have digital apes in it. Or Chris Pratt. Or a kid … Continue reading →

Memories of many a cinematic spook tale waft through David Lowery’s “A Ghost Story,” a haunting, meditative and cryptic variation of age-old themes. It’s about love’s link to the afterlife, more Tibetan Book of the Dead than its warm and … Continue reading →

A teen discovers a magical Chinese Wish Pot, makes a few wishes and is slow to grasp or accept responsibility for the consequences of her actions in “Wish Upon.” Yeah, that’s a worn plot device and the movie has the … Continue reading →

As its all-encompassing title suggests, “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” is a vast sci-fi cornucopia. It is an eye-popping encore from the director of “The Fifth Element,” a densely packed screen that overwhelms you with sights unseen … Continue reading →