Monthly Archives: December 2017

Let’s get this out of the way right out the gate. The Best Films of 2017 are “Dunkirk,” “The Florida Project,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “Lady Bird” and “Brad’s Status.” Yeah, “The Disaster Artist” can be in that conversation, … Continue reading →

Pardon my tardiness in catching up with the Barden Bellas one last time. I strongly suspected that these “pitches” had run out of ideas with “Pitch Perfect,” and “Pitch Perfect 2” pretty much confirmed it. But here it is, “Pitch … Continue reading →

There’s an almost unnerving self-confidence in aspiring filmmakers. Directing is not for the meek or shrinking violets. Egomaniacs are drawn to it like alpha flies. Spend any time around clusters of committed filmmaker wannabes and you’ll pick up on a … Continue reading →

It’s safe to say that the on-the-road/on-the-lam thriller “The Strange Ones” was conceived and filmed in a different time. We’re a lot more sensitive to hints of an age-inappropriate sexual relationship than we were mere months ago. That’s a key … Continue reading →

I’m only just now getting around to “Okja” because, well, the thought of a two hour dark Korean comedy about a digital built-in-the-lab superpig of the future holds little appeal. I loved “The Host,” liked “Snowpiercer” and “Mother,” so filmmaker … Continue reading →

All this back and forth over “There’s no REAL backlash to ‘The Last Jedi,’” “Everybody LOVES it,, exit-polling PROVES IT. Just like Disney SAYS!” and “It’s the fanboys/alt-right, hate-bots that have gamed the user-reviews on websites” have been rather vexing … Continue reading →

Beware of the actor, preacher or politician a little too in love with the sound of her or his own voice. And be leery of a writer enamored with the clatter of his own keyboard. Aaron Sorkin made his reputation … Continue reading →

Wow. This is what comic purgatory looks like. Actors, trapped in a laugh-free road comedy called “Father Figures” — a paying (gullible) audience, slack-jawed in dismay, trapped there with them for two hours. It co-stars Owen Wilson, with the fresh … Continue reading →

Well shucks, before this past weekend, I’d not given a thought that might be a sequel even in the works for the all-star, Greek location-filmed adaptation of that big, cheesy ABBA musical, “Mamma Mia.” But you know, they barely cracked … Continue reading →

What everybody wants to know about “All the Money in the World” is if Christopher Plummer, plugged into the “villain” role when disgraced star Kevin Spacey was edited out, pulls it off. Of course he does, with venomous, flinty flair. … Continue reading →