Monthly Archives: November 2018

Another “cute” hitman comedy, this one about a suicidal lad (Aneurin Barnard), despondent failed writer, all that, who tries and tries to off himself. And fails at that, too. Well then, nothing for it but to hire Tom Wilkinson, “a … Continue reading →

Dec. 16, Netflix premieres its recording of a “Springsteen on Broadway” performance — a storyteller, sans band, up close and personal. Scripted? Of course. But it looks like the best way to get the poet without the bombast.    

I watched the “I Am Paul Walker” retrospective documentary when it aired on Paramount Network last summer, and neglected to take notes and review it. It felt incomplete. But now the 90 minute version of this brisk, 120 minute (including … Continue reading →

  Take a nice long drag on your imported or domestic brand cigarette. Savor that last morsel of chocolate. And try not to make too much noise with the marvelously hand-crafted, shockingly cheap bracelets that grace discount stores and flea … Continue reading →

An eight book series about a tweenage criminal mastermind, with fairies and dwarves and goblins and pixies and theft and death and bio bombs? “Artemis Fowl” was always bound for the big screen. But with the production company accounts drowning … Continue reading →

Make an animated Christmas tale for kids and the world will beat a path to your door. But for every “Christmas Carol,” every “Arthur Christmas” or “Polar Express,” there are a hundred also-rans. Even starring Mickey Mouse in “Mickey’s Christmas … Continue reading →

You know those thrillers where the bad guys talks a lot? Too much? Like, constantly? Hate those. And that’s what “Blood Brother” is. That’s Jack Kesy’s character, the psychopathic ex-con Jake, in a nutshell — once a “blood brother” to … Continue reading →

The first trailer was sort of a “Hmmm, could it work?” But the latest one suggests “Why not?” So we’ll go into “Mary Poppins Returns” with that in our hearts. We will. Emily Blunt tries to make us forget Julia … Continue reading →

The Exotic East rarely seems more exotic than in the first 30 minutes or so of “People’s Republic of Desire,” a new documentary about online life in China built around the Chinese obsession with live streaming “hostesses” and “hosts.” It’s … Continue reading →

Alex Winter‘s “Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain” is the best 85 minute primer you will ever get on Bitcoin, its many imitators and the potentially world-changing technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible. As Winter’s legion of expert witnesses explain, this … Continue reading →