Monthly Archives: February 2018

  Antic, manic and stuffed up to its ears with cuddly, realistically animated critters, sing-along pop hits and slapstick violence, there’s no reason every child at around age four would not adore the new “Peter Rabbit.” And there’s little to … Continue reading →

We still call them “combat photographers,” even though the more exact term these days is “conflict photographers.” The dangers they face are broader, the conflicts murkier than mere “wars.” But to master the craft, the risks are the same. “You … Continue reading →

Stop motion clay-model animation is one of my favorite genres, and the Brits at Aardman are the undisputed masters of it. Their twee little kiddie films have a visual cleverness and richness that gives adults something to marvel over and … Continue reading →

Universal previewed “Fifty Shades Freed” in two theaters Wednesday night in Orlando, where I saw it. Two nearly-packed houses, filled with (mostly) older women. And as with the first two films in this trilogy, they ate it up. Me? Not … Continue reading →

Setting out to make a bad movie is rarely a good idea. And making a sequel to something you’d love to label “a cult film” is even more dubious. “Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel” is a cut-and-paste/jokes with … Continue reading →

The voice Tom Hardy trots out here isn’t his “Revenent” accent, isn’t his Bane mumble. It’s working class Joe, straight out of the mob movie “The Drop.” The one thing that strikes me in this Sony/Marvel trailer (an October release) … Continue reading →

“Vengeance is mine,” sayeth the Lord. But not in the movies. Revenge thrillers in their many forms are among the most reliable film genres, reaching for visceral reactions. Wanting to get even is in our nature, and the movies know … Continue reading →

In retrospect, Clint “One Take” Eastwood was probably the wrong guy to direct a movie in which he cast three non-actors to play the lead roles, and three underwhelming little boys to play the leads as children. And it’s no … Continue reading →

Draw we now the curtain upon the insipid, kinky romance novel blockbusters of “Fifty Shades of Grey.”  No more breathless lip-bites of orgasmic shock from the mousy-voiced beauty Dakota Johnson, as the improbably-named Anastasia Steel. No more hunky Jamie Dornan … Continue reading →

So here’s what we know about this one. Clint Eastwood, who had basically retired, finds a third act in his directing life with heartland America military true stories. After “American Sniper,” he casts the real American heroes who stopped a … Continue reading →