Monthly Archives: March 2020

This Easter release looks awfully “Call of the Wild” — digital effects, flowers and birds, turning the classic novel “The Secret Garden” into something more “Alice in Wonderland” ish. Colin Firth and Julie Walters are the big names in this … Continue reading →

The trailers and TV commercials showed it to be a hard picture to sell. Almost in the “Why was this movie animated?” vein. Human/elvish characters, a van trip “quest.” Minimal effects. Not that touching, not that funny. And then there’s … Continue reading →

The cancellation of the coolest cultural event in Texas due to fears of spreading the Corona Virus among musicians, filmmakers and fans prompted this tweet from the director of “Sean of the Dead.” edgarwright (@edgarwright) Tweeted: I love SXSW, it’s … Continue reading →

It is Pixar’s weakest release, in terms of laughs, story, characters and heart, in years. As its director also helmed “Monsters University,” “Onward” comes to the gate in the same condition. Winded. A lot of reviewers were lukewarm on it, … Continue reading →

They called it “The Battle of the Atlantic” back in “The Big One, WWII.” German U-Boats, later forming into “wolfpacks” attacked Allied convoys from North America to Great Britain. Destroyers and corvettes, “tin cans” or “Greyhounds,” dashed about and hunted … Continue reading →

Shorter and different, giving away more of the conceit behind the story. “Antebellum” opens April 24.

Boy, you settle in for an easy-going feel-good sports drama, and “The Grizzlies” is what you get instead. It’s got lump-in-the-throat, feel-good moments, sure. But the stakes could not be higher in this Canadian production. It begins with a suicide, … Continue reading →

“The Way Back” is a dull if somewhat likable nothing of a sports melodrama. It offers a “My character got sober, just like me” story arc for Ben Affleck to talk about on the chat shows. And good for him. … Continue reading →

“Daft” and “twee” are such hard tones to manage in a farce. But setting it in Ireland gives you a wee bit of a head start. “Extra Ordinary” is an Irish ghost-busting comedy featuring Will Forte as an American ex-pat … Continue reading →

Dolly Parton’s corner of the East Tennessee woods — and mountains and hollers — has benefited from her largesse over the decades. In April, a documentary about one such act of philanthropy makes it to theaters.