Monthly Archives: May 2018

Aged, trigger happy and generic. Sci-fi violence and maybe one vintage Jackie stunt. Where’s the charm, the wit, the warmth? Gone with the wind.

Shelly and Lee were born in the same hospital at the same time, affluent, dance-crazy California cuties who share so much. No, not that. Shelly who prefers “Elle” (Joey King) lusts for Lee’s hunky, short-tempered jock older brother, Noah (Jacob … Continue reading →

The lurid Japanese underworld of tattooed gangsters is the setting of “Darc,” a culture-clash thriller of the “Black Rain” variety that could be a big — OK, modest — break for Tony Schiena of “Locked Down.” He co-scripted and stars … Continue reading →

Every so often, the Madonna of the Movies, Lars Von Trier, screeches for attention and we’re reminded that he’s still a thing, that there’s something still something rotten in the state of Denmark. OK, I oversell. Pardon. This sadistic serial … Continue reading →

What a clever idea for your no-budget (save for travel and stars) rom-com. Pair up Keanu and Winona and make them not like each other in their patented patois. This is pretty damned funny. Never heard of the studio, but … Continue reading →

“Book Club,” aka “Sisterhood of the Traveling Spanx,” stuffs the screen with Oscar and Emmy winning actresses of a certain age and hopes the laughs will follow. And they do, just often enough to make this genial, eye-roller of a … Continue reading →

“Racer and the Jailbird” is about a rich young Porsche driver and the bank robber she falls for. It’s a torrid love affair, all-consuming even though the rising-star racer suspects her man lies, and her man is getting too old … Continue reading →

“First Reformed” redeems the career of one of the cinema’s great writer-directors, rescuing Paul Schrader from the wilderness of Nicolas Cage B-thrillers and the hell of begging Lindsay Lohan to show up in “The Canyons.” It’s a powerful, disturbing crisis … Continue reading →

  Aaron Baker was a California Motocross racer who suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury at 20. His doctors gave him “a one in a million chance of ever even feeding myself” again. When he and his mother, Laquito Dian, … Continue reading →

Love that Jean Reno, fascinating fellow who tipped me to all the apps he uses to track down fine food — he is French, after all — during an interview once. Here, he’s the old man of the mountains in … Continue reading →