Monthly Archives: November 2020

Disney’s new version of “Black Beauty” makes the famed fictional horse a wild Western mustang and moves her from 19th century England to modern day America. But writer-director Ashley Avis doesn’t shy away from the dark undertones of Anna Sewell’s … Continue reading →

Long before the streaming services made the label “made for television movie” respectable, there were stand-outs in the stepsister genre that showed you didn’t need Hollywood backing to make a good movie. Spielberg’s breakout “Duel” is the best known example. … Continue reading →

We pretty much don’t have soap operas to kick around any more. But that favorite trope of drama’s most melodramatic art form remains. Amnesia still pops up in movies, long after most soaps, and movies like “Memento” and “50 First … Continue reading →

Noemí is out of sorts when we meet her. She confides in her mouthy, free-spirit friend Rosa, worried about what’s going on “with my body” after “the pills (in Spanish, with English subtitles).” There it is. She’s pregnant, unsure of … Continue reading →

Cut through the cute that crosses into “cutesie,” tolerate the stereotypes and ignore the sentiment that claws at cloying, and “Team Marco” plays like a pleasant time killer of a comedy suitable for the whole family. It’s a “things my … Continue reading →

Never seen a Billie Holiday doc, this looks terrific. A Dec. 4 release.

A belting singer with tenacious qualities, yes? Do I need to spell it out for you in Black and white? No, not Jack White…but close.

A winded, wan and somewhat already-played-out comedy about taking your shot in show business, “Hollyweird” has two things halfway going for it. It has a point of view, and there’s a neat third act twist. If directing/co-writing husband and wife … Continue reading →

“Girl With No Mouth” is a savagely violent, downbeat Turkish dystopia, a picaresque “Peter Pan” (or “Wendy”) meets “How I Live Now.” Can Evrenol’s thriller is heavy on parable, semi-nonsensical in plot, but benefits from good acting and a grimly-realized … Continue reading →