Monthly Archives: August 2020

A ghost story, a little horror from Netflix, which hasn’t made much of mark in the genre.

“Critical Thinking” is a cluttered, cliched and ungainly story about disadvantaged kids becoming a formidable chess team under the tutelage of a teacher/coach who “won’t give up on them.” It’s the feature directing debut of star John Leguizamo, who plays … Continue reading →

There are worse labels a filmmaker could pursue that “That old softie.” That’s Brett Haley’s niche. The director of “The Hero” and “Hearts Beat Loud” serves up another slice of sentiment with “All Together Now,” a high school “It’s a … Continue reading →

The old showbiz maxim “Always leave’em begging for more” is pushed beyond its limits in “Mambo Man,” a perfectly charming and utterly predictable Cuban dramedy that is over entirely too soon. It’s about a Cuban entrepreneur, a pig and tomato … Continue reading →

Per @ERCboxoffice) “WB’s TENET scored a massive $53M debut internationally this weekend, in 41 territories and 20,000+ screens. TOP MARKETS UK ($7.1M) FRA ($6.7M) KOR ($5.1M) GER ($4.2M) https://twitter.com/ERCboxoffice/status/1300124719178371072?s=20

“The New Mutants,” shelved even before Fox made it an orphaned film by selling out to Disney, became a classic “late August release when The Mouse took custody. Dumped in theaters this weekend, a last gasp of X Men rebooted … Continue reading →

Yes, it is now Disney+’s “Mulan.” The live-action remake of the animated musical (made in Orlando) based on a Chinese folk legend was headed to theaters, seemed sure to be the blockbuster of the summer, and then Wuhan Don’s blunders … Continue reading →

“Unknown Origins” (Spanish title “Orígenes secretos”) plays like the penultimate draft of a mash-up of “Se7en” and “Kick-Ass,” a not-quite-there script that Netflix let its Spanish division put before the cameras. Co-writer/director David Galán Galindo, who also wrote the book … Continue reading →

“Entwined” is a moody, handsomely-mounted modern day Greek folk tale that never quite finds the urgency or suspense to lure us in. It’s about a beautiful, mysterious woman (Anastasia Rafaella Konidi) who lives in the woods, and the new doctor … Continue reading →