Monthly Archives: July 2020

The legal profession takes its share of rightly-deserved brickbats from the press, the public and stand-up comics. And if you’ve ever dealt with a “class action” hustle — “We sue in your name, and keep all the money” — or … Continue reading →

  The children’s fantasy “Animal Crackers” didn’t deserve to be left on the shelf, which I am sure the folks who made it will be relieved to hear. It’s been finished since 2017, never gaining distribution in North America, barely … Continue reading →

Boy, much respect for this distributor, which has turned out some winners. But this Aug. 4 release looks amateurish, campy in an unintentional way.

Cosmo Jarvis punches above his weight in the film that announces his arrival as a cinematic force to be reckoned with in “The Shadow of Violence.” It’s a Tom Hardy-sized performance in the sort of role Hardy tackled early on, … Continue reading →

Ahh, the flipping comic book pages of the Marvel Studios logo, the voice-over narration meant to lend gravitas and personality to the caped and spandexed adventure to follow. Here’s the first scene to “New Mutants,” because the old ones were … Continue reading →

It’s long enough ago that a lot of people don’t remember it. But Times Square wasn’t always a tourist haven. New York used to be broke, and broken. Vast stretches of New York City were wastelands, with nightly “insurance claim” … Continue reading →

A chance encounter, a crime committed by a relative and well-ordered lives, in a country famous for them, fall to pieces in the Japanese drama “A Girl Missing.” It’s another intimate portrait of a mannered, particularly Japanese way of unraveling … Continue reading →

Casper Von Diem is der villain in this action pic from Voltage pictures. Samaire Armstrong and William Katt, the onetime “Greatest American Hero,” also star in this one, which might be slated for Dec. Or might have moved up, since … Continue reading →

The kids are facing a grim school year, no matter which way  the COVID turns. They could use a little end-of-summer escape. And with most cinemas still closed, it’s up to the Kings of Teen Romance, Netflix, to provide it. … Continue reading →

Regarding “Amulet,” the words of Abraham Lincoln, the First Movie Critic, come to mind. “Those who like this sort of thing might find it the sort of thing they like.” I see this horror tale from actress (“Suffragette” and TV’s … Continue reading →