Monthly Archives: November 2019

This could be our Peak Nic Cage moment, a “meta” movie about the real Nicolas Cage caught up in some Nic Cage movie style nonsense. Debt, sleazy operators, an Oscar winner reduced to taking any gig he can get. All … Continue reading →

A common pitfall of animation start-ups is spending their money on famous names as voice actors instead of higher end animation and better gag writers. But Netflix upends that standing rule with its first animated feature, “Klaus.” Casting Jason Schwartzman … Continue reading →

The latest “Charlie’s Angels” reboot acknowledges its place in the Farrah Fawcett to Cameron Diaz to Kristen Stewart continuum. The “Townsend Agency” has had many Angels, many Bosleys. It opens with a documentary montage of girls competing at sports, tackling … Continue reading →

“The Warrior Queen of Jhansi” is a respectable B-movie from India about a heroine of “The Mutiny,” the 1857-58 Indian Rebellion against the rule of the British East India Company and its British soldiers. Ambitious, if choppy, flatly-acted and less … Continue reading →

For those who haven’t been paying attention, Indian films and movies set in India have been showing up on screens nationwide with increasing frequency. Few have made much of a dent in the US box office, but the Subcontinent Diaspora … Continue reading →

You can’t manufacture a “cult film.” But you can play around with “Hey you guys, this REALLY happened!” Try a new twist on the “found footage” horror formula that “The Blair Witch Project” perfected, a “long lost movie” myth with … Continue reading →

An ageing actress summons her extended family to scenic Sintra, Portugal, in “Frankie,” a lovely but downbeat and dull showcase for Isabelle Huppert, who has the title role. You’d think that with a husband, ex-husband, stepdaughter who is contemplating divorce, … Continue reading →

Maybe returning to your high school to coach will help with that drinking problem. A March release, starring Ben and directed by Gavin O’Connor.

Oh yes, we’re going back under the sea for a few Spongebob shenanigans, Patrick pratfalls etc. Next May.  

“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is a biographical essay in sweetness and light. Tom Hanks playing the most beloved TV personality America has ever produced, “Mister Rogers,” may be the epitome of cinematic “on the nose” casting. A “national … Continue reading →