Monthly Archives: February 2019

Preview: You may want to party with an Oscar winner, Octavia Spencer will change your mind as “MA”

This one a lot of high school and college kids who “like to party” have lived through — the horror.

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Movie Review: “Happy Death Day 2U”

That old movie critics’ maxim — “They rarely get better.” — kind of takes it on the chin with “Happy Death Day 2U,” the winded but game sequel to 2017’s “Happy Death Day.” It starts badly. For five minutes or … Continue reading →

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Preview: “Frozen 2” or “Frozen II,” Ilsa still doesn’t want to get her feet wet

Kristen Bell’s still not letting it go? Her ice princess isn’t getting her feet wet, if she can help it, in this briny blue action-packed (action only) trailer for “Frozen II,” opening Nov. 22. Evan Rachel Wood and Sterling K. … Continue reading →

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Preview: “Tolkien” reveals the man who forged “The Lord of the Rings”

Nicholas Hoult, who has a fun turn in “The Favourite,” has the title role here — a possible “serious actor” break-out moment for him in a picture that has  prestige and fangirl/fanboy appeal built into it, sort of in that … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: For this Icelandic eco-caper to come off, we need a “Woman at War”

Oh, that every dark comedy to come down the pike was as playful as “Woman at War.” It plays around with expectations, setting us up and tripping us — time and again. It toys with conventions and worn comic tropes … Continue reading →

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Preview: One musician is the last Man on Earth who remembers The Beatles in Danny Boyle’s fantasy, “Yesterday”

It’s a little sci-fi, and a lot “Love Actually.” Danny Boyle directed and Richard Curtis scripted this musical romantic fable. Lily James, Ed Sheeran, Kate McKinnon and others are among the “names” that surround star Himesh Patel, who plays a … Continue reading →

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Next Screening? An Icelander takes on High Tension Power Lines in “Woman at War”

This “Woman at War” has the potential for whimsy, I must say. A quixotic figure who is tilting, like the Don Quixote who inspired “Quixotic,” not at windmills but at power lines. Reminds me of this TV movie for the … Continue reading →

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Preview, New “Aladdin” trailer has Will Smith in Blue

The first thought — and perish that thought, if you can — that popped into my head was “impressive, in a ‘Prince of Persia’ way.” But the source material here is a can’t-miss Disney musical, a cartoon classic given a … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Rebel Wilson looks for laughs in rom-com cliches in “Isn’t It Romantic”

Rebel Wilson’s niche in the cinema is an enviable one. She’s the quintessential “funnier best friend” the ultimate icing on the ensemble comedy (or musical) cake. The Aussie has made a career out of sharing the screen in “Pitch Perfect” … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Love might be found in the “vintage” trade of “Antiquities”

There are worse sins than “trying too hard” in a romantic comedy. With twee (precious) characters, a twee setting — the world of antiques and vintage dealers in small town Arkansas — and twee subject matter, as in getting to … Continue reading →

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