Monthly Archives: October 2019

Benny staggers off the plane and makes his way to the parking lot. “Welcome to Iceland,” a friendly cabbie says. Need a lift? Where do you want to go? “Where do people go?” What’s that? “When they fly in…” Hungover … Continue reading →

Never underestimate the value of “novelty” when it comes to romantic comedies. A “fish out of water” romance, where somebody from one culture falls for someone from an alien (to him or her) culture, that’s the sort of fresh take … Continue reading →

The Oscar nominee and Oscar winner join Joseph Gordon Levitt, Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Rylance, among others. https://t.co/MvlFImjfyg https://t.co/1eOQAWWogb https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1187863419732541446?s=17

  A mother and daughter with everything they own in their SUV move from Tuscon to Oklahoma, and rue the day Mom takes a shortcut through Tulia, Texas. That’s where her tire blows, literally a moment after her cell phone … Continue reading →

If you wanted to remake and update that iconic ’80s comedy of teen angst, “The Breakfast Club,” here’s what you might try. The “popular” girl, played by Molly Ringwald? Make her an Instagram star (Hana Hayes) and social media “influencer” … Continue reading →

Horror anthologies are nothing new, with “The ABCs of Death” and “VHS” series giving indie filmmakers in the genre a chance to pitch in on a collection of short films, connected by theme. Calling “Portals” a science fiction anthology doesn’t … Continue reading →

“Countdown” is for those horror fans who like their drinks straight, no chaser. Nothing too fancy. Not too much “explaining,” none that has to make any sense, anyway. Nice and cheap (a $6.5 million budget). Cast good-looking unknowns (Elizabeth Lail, Jordan … Continue reading →

Artists, the old saying goes, “pound the same nail over and over again.” For the Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, that nail often has fingernail polish on it. “Pain & Glory,” his 22nd feature film, finds the 70 year-old legend in … Continue reading →

For someone who gripes that a big problem with Hollywood these days is its abandonment of proven, visionary directors, this is sobering. Ang Lee has been given a lot of chances to deliver the goods since “Brokeback Mountain,”none bigger tha … Continue reading →