Yearly Archives: 2018

Movie Review: Jason Momoa lends his action cool to “Braven”

Jason Momoa, for those who missed the memo, is the man. He made “Justice League” worth watching, all by his charismatic, beefy confidant self. He’s in “Frontier” on TV and has other projects lined up, based at least in part … Continue reading

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Movie Review: “In Search of Fellini” finds whimsy, if few laughs

Of all the attributes to strive to give your comic film, “twee” is the hardest to pull off. It’s that delicate dose of daft — just shy of cloying  — that lets most efforts in this corner of the cinema … Continue reading

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Movie Review: Fanning can’t Fake Anything Fun in “Please Stand By”

An Autistic young “Star Trek” fanatic expands her horizons on her first-ever road trip on her own in “Please Stand By,” a picture whose picaresque premise holds more promise that its star or director deliver. The heroine of the piece … Continue reading

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“Time’s Up” for Franco’s Oscar chances?

It started with Ally Sheedy tweeting in protest about James Franco’s Golden Globes win for starring in “The Disaster Artist.” Then others came forward, alleging sexual harassment and coercion on film sets. And now the LA Times has chased down … Continue reading

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Documentary Review: “The Final Year” shows the calm, dogged competence of a White House that worked

The first thing that hits you is the quiet. For all the movement, the rush from meeting to meeting, the urgency of the issues they seem to be dealing with, there’s no sign of discord, chaos or quarreling in this … Continue reading

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Documentary Review: Nature lends a hand in the art in Andy Goldsworthy in “Leaning into the Wind”

Andy Goldsworthy makes art where he finds it — in decaying forests, in snow-covered fields, on streets where he might lie down just as a light rain is beginning. His “ghost” is his dry body shape, which you see on … Continue reading

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Today’s first screening — “In Search of Fellini”

On the one hand, you had me at “Fellini.” And then there’s sunny Italy, a boon to any film’s setting, especially an indie one. And Maria Bello, Earth Momma extraordinaire. On the other hand, it’s yet another coming-of-age romance, and … Continue reading

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Movie Review: Liam Neeson IS…”The Commuter”

Yeah, it’s just another Liam Neeson B-movie thriller. Yes, we’ve seen “The Commuter” before. Hell, we’ve seen it starring Liam Neeson and also directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. Only that film was set on a plane, not a train, and it … Continue reading

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Movie Review: Verizon guy suffers and celebrates “Entanglement”

Thomas Middleditch is that lanky, likeable put-upon Canadian star of “Silicon Valley” and too many Verizon commercials to count. Maybe he can’t convince you to switch cell phone services, but his EveryShlump image makes him easy to pity and root … Continue reading

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Movie Review: “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool”

You don’t have to be a film buff to remember Gloria Grahame. We see her every Christmas, as Violet, the good-hearted Bedford Falls floozy in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” An Oscar winner in “The Bad and the Beautiful,” a “Girl … Continue reading

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