Yearly Archives: 2018

If you really REALLY believe that old Oscar truism, “Best Directors direct Best Pictures,” this might be a good time to put your money where that belief is. Because even though writer-director Martin McDonagh was ROBBED and not nominated as … Continue reading →

One thing that poker, the stock market and fiction share in common is “the buy in.” In movies, that’s the mental leap we make when we accept dramatic situations and scripted characters as real. “The Misguided” is a not-quite-gritty West … Continue reading →

As an actress, Heather Graham’s career has been marked by just a couple of moves. She can go wide-eyed, delivering perky banter at an acceptably blinding speed, rolling those wide eyes here and there for effect.  She can go vertical, … Continue reading →

It’s too common to talk about “Oscar snubs,” as if Academy Award nominations are some sort of entitlement. No talk, then, of “one last nomination” for Judi Dench (“Victoria & Abdul”). Let’s forget about Hugh Jackman, who could have pulled … Continue reading →

  They pulled out all the stops for the finale to the lightly-regarded “Maze Runner” trilogy, a young adult action series devolved on the “Hunger Games/Divergent/Mortal Instruments/Giver” model. The action beats, stunts and effects of “Maze Runner: The Death Cure” … Continue reading →

  Daniel Day Lewis announcing his retirement has overshadowed, somewhat, his “final” film for his “There Will Be Blood” collaborator, writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson.    “Phantom Thread” is a dry, chilly and occasionally droll tale of unconventional love in 1950s … Continue reading →

Gerard Butler has never been more detestable on screen than he is in “Den of Thieves.” He goes full “Training Day” — OK, half “Training Day” — for a heist thriller about ruthless cops hounding after murderous bank robbers. It’s … Continue reading →

  “Forever My Girl” is a Nicholas Sparks romance without Sparks or sparks, without the beach; a small-town, broken people finding each other, a genial, low-heat courtship and lots and lots of talk. It’s as slow as a July 4 … Continue reading →

Long before “Portlandia,” Gus Van Sant was the chronicler of quirky Hipsville’s underbelly, and his latest takes him back there for the true story of a quadreplegic/alcoholic cartoonist. Joaquin Phoenix plays John Callahan, drunk and trapped in a wheelchair, who … Continue reading →

The late character actor turned director Bill Paxton once shared his secret to landing any directing gig with me. “Tell ’em, ‘I can cut a HELLUVA trailer out of this!” That’s what “Proud Mary” is, a helluva trailer with Taraji … Continue reading →