Monthly Archives: December 2019

Sometimes as a journalist you catch a glimpse of something when you’re talking to a child actor. Maybe Macaulay Culkin is too interested in “performing,” distracting you as the interviewer. River Phoenix? Antic, manic, “wired” you decide later. You hear … Continue reading →

I am an audience of one at an afternoon matinee of “Playmobil: The Movie.” I am in one of the busiest cinemas in the gigantic Regal Cinemas chain. What does the rest of North America know, or at least suspect, … Continue reading →

Julia Garner has the title role in this thriller about an overlooked, bullied and discriminated against personal assistant to Matthew McFadyen. It opens Jan. 31, early Feb in most cities. The bad news? Bleecker Street has it. The witness protection … Continue reading →

Some skeptical critic friends and I were speculating about the Death March that is “The Irishman.” Netflix viewing figures, via Nielsen, show over 17 million dove into Scorsese’s last long walk on a short mob movie pier. And maybe 700,000 … Continue reading →

“Sequestrada” is a lyrical docudrama whose advertising tag-line could very easily be, “Well, we didn’t see THAT coming.” It’s a Brazilian/American co-production about the Amazon, the indigenous people who live there and a dam that’s being pushed by the government … Continue reading →

I am guessing this autobiographical film about Shia LaBeouf will take me back to the first time I interviewed him at the Toronto Film Festival way back when. Antic, smart, wired, worldwide and maybe…18? I’ll have to look that up. … Continue reading →

Who says feel-good tear-jerkers can’t have a little edge? “Wish Man” may be the story of the Arizona police officer who founded theMake-a-Wish Foundation, the quintessence of “heartwarming” as subject matter. But it’s got violence, dirty cops and alcohol abuse, … Continue reading →

Considering what they did to “Lion King” and “Aladdin,” let’s keep our expectations low. Looks pretty though. War, real spectacle. China will be pleased, and come next year, we might be too.

Here’s a well-intentioned World War I quickie designed to steal a smidgen of the thunder of the Oscar-contender, “1917,” which debuts Christmas Day in some of the country. “The Great War” is about racism in the segregated American Expeditionary Forces … Continue reading →

    Here’s a straight-up mob moll hides out with a hitman thriller, with a few Latin American twists. “En Brazos de un Asesino” (In the Arms of an Assassin) is a Dominican production, set in Mexico, about a young … Continue reading →