Monthly Archives: November 2017

“Thor: Ragnarok” looked like a $100 million hit Friday morning, based on Thursday night’s numbers. But Friday changed all that and for the better. It’s now headed toward a $115-120 opening, right at the top end of projections. That’s the … Continue reading →

“Thor: Ragnarok” is the best-reviewed Marvel movie. Ever. On Rottentomatoes, anyway. On the more discerning and nuanced Metacritic, most everyone still says they liked it. “Love?” Let’s not get carried away, here. As many have pointed out, it makes little … Continue reading →

Greta Gerwig has matured out of playing the adorable, quirky, self-absorbed with self-invention young women of “Hannah Takes the Stairs” and “Damsels in Distress.” In film after film, she’s let us see the social;y striving — posh, put-on accents, affected … Continue reading →

“Tragedy Girls” is a “Heathers” for the social media age. Or that’s its aim. Director/co-writer Tyler MacIntyre takes aim at a youth culture that’s all about “likes” and page-views and branding, and parks a couple of pretty, heartless horror fangirls right in … Continue reading →

The first “Saw” movie had a minimalist sophistication — strangers, waking up together, presented with life-or-death choices as an unseen tormentor sat in judgement of whether they were fit to live. Everything that followed, sequels and the whole “torture porn” … Continue reading →

Now that Halloween has passed, it’s not too early for Hollywood to unleash its first Christmas comedy. But there’s never a good time to release a bad one. Nothing like celebrating the holidays with a puerile, sentimental and foul-mouthed slapstick … Continue reading →

Lyndon Johnson was a tall man, 6’4.” He had a habit of leaning into colleagues and subordinates, towering over them, intimidating even in the friendliest of circumstances. And as he had a temper and a mania for hard work, wheeling … Continue reading →