Monthly Archives: August 2018

When the actor Thomas Hulce was preparing to play the film role that defined him, “Amadeus,” he read about Mozart, but he truly studied the tennis star of the day, John McEnroe. Who better to model a precocious brat of … Continue reading →

An occupied British island, plucky locals “resisting” the Nazis with a fake “book club,” hiding livestock and a recipe for using the one vegetable they were allowed in creative, whimsical ways  — “The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society” has … Continue reading →

Hogwarts it ain’t. Kind of a giddy trailer, eh wot?

The triumph of “Crazy Rich Asians” is the spectrum of its characters, a broad representation of the global Chinese diaspora. Granted, these are the Asian “one percent” we’re talking about here, but you have old money nobility, sage elders, gauche … Continue reading →

The giant prehistoric shark thriller “The Meg” opens to indifferent reviews, and middling box office expectations. A $23 million opening for a reported $150 million film won’t please the accountants, but the Chinese investment, co-stars and setting suggest that’s where … Continue reading →

A pre-fabricated urban legend comes to the big screen in “Slender Man,” essentially a random mash-up of horror film tropes and effects that doesn’t amount to much that’s frightening. Director Sylvain White, of “Stomp the Yard” and a lot of … Continue reading →

Looks as if this one only previewed in NYC, so I guess I’m ducking into my favorite multiplex tonight to see every teenage girl’s nightmare — “Slender Man.”  

You see that title, and the name of that star (Gael Garcia Bernal also stars), and you think, “Uh oh. Trouble in Kindergarten.” Look for “The Kindergarten Teacher” to start streaming Oct. 12.  

“Perdida” is sort of an Argentinian Girl with the Mermaid Tattoo,” a human trafficking thriller built around a compelling lead performance by Luisana Lopilato. It begins promisingly, features striking Patagonian and Canary Islands locations and some brutal brawl for your life … Continue reading →

You may not know the name, but you know the face of Robert Davi, a veteran heavy, a big screen fixture for decades playing mob bosses, made men, Bond villains and the occasional cop, soldier or Fed. “I’ve had to … Continue reading →