Monthly Archives: January 2020

“José” is an intimate character portrait depicting the struggle between responsibility and love in a gay teen in modern day Guatemala. What was the last movie you saw set in Guatemala? Director and co-writer Li Cheng loses himself in the … Continue reading →

Love Michael Peña, and I’ve interviewed him a few times over the years, beginning with his break-out in “World Trade Center.” He’s made fine comic foils and a first rate Cesar Chavez, is always credible as star or co-star, playing … Continue reading →

Films set in Puerto Rico are as rare as hurricane aid to the storm tossed island. This is worth seeing just for the novelty.

A healthy but underwhelming first weekend for “The Grudge” is the box office news open this New Year. The younger audience that knows horror movies mean “date night” is reliably showing up for the reboot of this J-Horror inspired franchise. … Continue reading →

All the years of fitfully studying Spanish, all the Spanish language films I’ve reviewed, and today I learn a new word. “Ñoño.” It’s Spanish (Mexican slang) for “lame.” I didn’t hear it in the new Netflix comedy “All the Freckles … Continue reading →

Deadline.com is saying that “The Grudge,” the lone wide release on this first weekend of 2020, should pull in $9 million, but could reach the $teens. Box Office Mojo seems to agree,as this early Jan. horror opening thing generally/historically seems … Continue reading →

The film is largely French, and has opened in France. But somebody’s sure to pick it up here, if only for limited release pre-VOD/Streaming. A drama about motherhood, the Big Mission and the tug between the two. A plum role … Continue reading →

Not going to name names or anything, but SOME of us remember when Alice Krige made her first big splash on screen as the title character, a young woman accidentally killed by callous young men who are later haunted by … Continue reading →

The thing that stands out about the second trailer for this Guy Ritchie/STX action comedy (Jan. 24) is how canny Henry Golding’s agent was for talking him into this gig. A somewhat fey romantic lead in his recent films, let’s … Continue reading →

A very accomplished cast can’t prevent “The Grudge” reboot from being the first dog of 2020, a well-acted but incompetently-plotted tale of a curse that transfers like a deed — a haunted house that crosses hemispheres. A gaunt Andrea Riseborough, … Continue reading →