Monthly Archives: September 2019

The path to “The World We Make” is paved with patronizing, heavy-handed and somewhat retro good intentions. It’s a modern day inter-racial romance set in that corner of suburban Nashville that hasn’t turned a calendar page since, oh, 1975. The … Continue reading →

“Groupers” is a farce about kidnapping two homophobic high school bullies and forcing them to prove their “thesis” — that homosexuality, “sexual proclivity,” is a choice. If it is, they can “choose” to dabble in it same sex romance, and … Continue reading →

Netflix has had better luck with teen comedies than with post-apocalyptic sci-fi. But Oct. 24, perhaps this mashup farce will change all that.

Office romances, especially those between boss and employee, have made a a rapid transition from “frowned upon” by HR to repellant and condemnable in the “#MeToo” era. They’re positively fraught, these days. Thus, the misfortune that is “Can You Keep … Continue reading →

It’s been mostly miss or miss, with hits pretty rare, since Tiffany Haddish broke out with “Girls’ Trip.” Pairing her up with Rose Byrne, under-rated as a comedienne, but damned funny in “Neighbors” and “Bridesmaids” and “Get Him to the … Continue reading →

She’s having a moment, albeit in tiny films. But pairing up Alexandra D. with Tyler Hoechlin could pay dividends.

Here’s an excruciating foot-dragger of a comedy about how an Italian immigrant makes his way to New York where he then makes his mark, as a waiter — inventing an ice cream dessert when the kitchen runs out of pastries. … Continue reading →

“It Chapter 2” may have underwhelmed critics, but it lost about 55% of its opening take, sndthus earned another $40.7 million this weekend. “The Goldfinch” had Oscar buzz…until studio people and then critics got to see the finished product. Perfectly … Continue reading →

“The Goldfinch” is a sprawling, ungainly but perfectly watchable mess of a movie, one of those novel adaptations where one wishes they’d taken the time to edit that beast into something tighter before the cameras rolled. Director John Crowley (“Brooklyn”) … Continue reading →

“Trauma is a Time Machine” is a film title worth parsing, considering as a stand-alone aphorism. “Trauma” implies something we don’t just “get over.” And as it plays over and over in the mind, it does indeed become a time … Continue reading →