Monthly Archives: September 2019

Hard to tell, based on this latest trailer. A February sleeper?

The Canadian actress Mackenzie Davis was “This year’s tall, willowy and funny blonde” oh, about five years ago — in the midst of a run that included TV’s “Halt and Catch Fire” and movies that peaked with “The Martian” and … Continue reading →

It’s no secret that many of the great comics are and were never the most pleasant people to deal with. I remember a confab of critics I was part of in a hotel bar in LA one time when we … Continue reading →

DreamWorks’ underwhelming “Abominable,” which stands to make most of its money in China, managed nearly $21 million on its opening weekend in the US, the weakest Dreamworks opening in decades. “Downton Abbey” plucked another $14.5 from the swells buying tickets … Continue reading →

This Annapurna picture is warning a Hulu release. It looks creepy enough to merit theatrical, but Oct. 18 Hulu lets us decide if smaller screen is enough.

Did you see the British comedy “Swimming With Men?” It was a twee but melancholy Rob Brydon/Jim Carter vehicle, a “Full Monty” set against a synchronized swimming story. “Sink or Swim” is the same movie, more or less, set in … Continue reading →

  Here’s a career retrospective documentary that began life as “21 Years: Quentin Tarantino,” and was finished a few years ago (2017) — brushed up, repurposed, re-titled and released on the heels of a very successful run of “Once Upon … Continue reading →

It was, and remains, the most frightening science fiction film ever made. “Alien” was a  watershed picture when it hit theaters in 1979, like an anti-“Star Wars” “Close Encounters of the Terminal Kind.” It had an unstoppable, insectoid monster attacking … Continue reading →

Last year at this time, “Smallfoot” managed an $833,000 opening Thursday night on its way to a meek (for an animated musical) opening of $23 million or so, Thursday night, “Abominable,” another “yeti” comedy but this time from Dreamworks, not … Continue reading →

The poet swordsman with big nose had to get his start somewhere. This French backstage comedy tells that story.