Monthly Archives: August 2018

Forget “Alpha,” here’s the REAL “dog of August” at the movies — “Mile 22” — an antic, nonsensical and bloody B-movie amped up by Mark Wahlberg’s motor-mouthed character and the savage, sadistic martial arts stylings of  Iko Uwais. Wahlberg’s go-to director, … Continue reading →

It’s now on VOD and is almost certainly worth tracking down. A bit of Michael Caine autobiography (he narrates), a lot of Swinging London. I have a call in to Gravitas to see if I can get my hands on … Continue reading →

Danny McBride does “out there” better than most anybody. Rosemarie DeWitt, David Allen Grier, Luke Wilson, and a murderous wack-job who isn’t that keen on the promises of realtors and the future that didn’t happen for him. Comedies don’t get … Continue reading →

As AIDS swept across America in the 1980s, the country and its many distinct subcultures were sorely tested in figuring out how to confront it. Confusion and misinformation, prejudice and superstition, genuine fear and revolting callousness all bubbled up during … Continue reading →

A little mid-August action for your cinema going pleasure. Alas, STX chose not to screen “Mile 22,” a Mark Wahlberg/Peter Berg picture, for critics. Reviews are popping up today, and I’m catching it the first showing in the small town … Continue reading →

As Deadline.com notes, the adaptation of “Crazy Rich Asians” is the first major studio release to be headlined by an almost all-Asian cast in 25 years. “The Joy Luck Club” was the last, and oddly enough, a hit. Which begs … Continue reading →

He never seems to stop smiling, and why should he? Pop phenom Ed Sheeran can improvise at will, conjure lyrics, hooks, riffs and verses out of thin air, or so it seems in his cousin’s “Songwriter” documentary. Kick around a … Continue reading →

  Oscar winner Viola Davis plays a woman married to a robber (Liam Neeson) whose gang is wiped out in a heist gone wrong. So she, Michelle Rodriguez and the other “Widows” take on that “one last job” that will … Continue reading →

“Alpha” has to stand as one of the pleasant surprises of the cinematic summer, a gritty yet sentimental fantasy about that first Ice Age boy to fall for a dog. It’s a movie with more blood and guts than Disney … Continue reading →

True story — classical pianist Don Shirley had a white tough-guy bouncer-type driver behind the wheel of his Caddy as he toured the segregated South of the 1960s. They followed the “Green Book” of places that accepted black patronage — … Continue reading →