Monthly Archives: September 2017

Although there are many ways to tell the story of how a writer’s life informs his or her talent, there’s something to be said for literary biographies that narrow their focus, zeroing on in a signal event that made a … Continue reading →

Kind of sad when I heard this was happening. Lara Croft did Angelina Jolie no favors. But putting another Oscar winner into the role was meant to be. I guess. Kristen Scott Thomas and Dominic West play her parents, the … Continue reading →

INTERIOR: A dark hallway, the camera tracks into a bedroom where a little boy is having a nightmare. The title “Thirteen years ago” appears on the screen. The little boy imagines himself in what looks like a graveyard, macabre figures … Continue reading →

  There’s a lot of Ferris Bueller to Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder. That only becomes clear in “Let’s Play Two,” the new documentary about the band’s triumphant performance at Wrigley Field as the Cubs were rolling to their … Continue reading →

Remember when you were 11, had never seen a James Bond movie and thought somebody, ANYbody, dropping the F-word was the funniest thing ever? That’s what “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” is like — recycled Bond gags and settings, sophomoric humor, … Continue reading →

Movies about vets struggling with post traumatic stress or other issues after service in the Middle East are so common that Hollywood has, on a few occasions, declined to release even productions with big stars on that subject. Nowadays, you … Continue reading →

All he wanted to do was skip out of work early, make a fancy poster and charm his way back into his ex-girlfriend’s life as she crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon. If, of course, he can avoid … Continue reading →

  “American Assassin” is a Big Action Beats formula thriller that overstays its welcome and never quite gels around its hunky young star, allowing Michael Keaton to steal the movie out from under him. Just like “Spider-Man,” in other words. … Continue reading →

Oh, the things Darren Aronofsky does to his latest leading-lady turned muse, Jennifer Lawrence. In “Mother!”, he keeps the camera in Lawrence’s face, on her shoulder and looking down her shirt as she is insulted, grabbed, pummeled and worse. It’s … Continue reading →

The best cast Guillermo del Toro’s ever worked with headlines his government secrets/monster movie period piece “The Shape of Water,” due out this Dec. Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon and Richard Jenkins — that’s a lineup any Academy … Continue reading →