Monthly Archives: January 2020

One can imagine those old pros Louis Mandylor (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”) and Armand Assante (most recently in “The Deuce,” but he goes back to “The Lords of Flatbush” and “Private Benjamin”) sitting together in the makeup trailer for … Continue reading →

Blake Lively goes all vengeance thriller in this Jan. 31 release. Looks good, doesn’t it?

Faith-based films, as a general rule, are big on emotion and message but lack risk and edge. They “preach to the choir” and play it safe, serving up comfort food for the faithful. But boy, “Assassin 33 A.D.” doesn’t lack … Continue reading →

The director of the smash “A Star is Born” rounded up some big time producers for his planned Leonard Bernstein film biography. Spielberg and Scorsese are the two biggest names. The famed composer, New York Philharmonic director and popularizer of … Continue reading →

It is a chilly Martin Luther King Day in America’s vacationland, and I am in a suburban multiplex with a couple of anime fans, and maybe a dozen anime apostates, all here for “Weathering with You.” The latter group know … Continue reading →

That makes it a January blockbuster. No wonder Sony is rushing to set up a fourth film in the Will Smith/Martin Lawrence franchise. It achieved the second biggest Martin Luther King holiday weekend opening ever. “Dolittle” managed $29.5 million over … Continue reading →

Foreign language films, or “international” films as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences now calls them, immerse you in a culture, and the good ones — no matter the subject, can tell you a lot about a place … Continue reading →

It all seems cut and dried as far as acting awards go, doesn’t it? Same winners, show after show after show. But Best Picture seems like a three picture race, thanks to that Sscreen Actors Guild (SAG) award for best … Continue reading →

Love that Terry Crews. When it comes to big, burly character actors who can credibly play tough guys, and hilarious goofs on their tough guy image, he has just two peers — Danny Trejo and Dave Bautista. Pretty good company … Continue reading →

“Jumanji” FINALLY finishes a weekend ahead of “Star Wars.” It took a month, but holding audience and having legs at the box office finally bore fruit fruit for”The Next Level.” It will probably play longer into this winter than “The … Continue reading →