Monthly Archives: December 2020

Long before the Kardashians or Trump press conferences, there was hate-watching. And it wasn’t just on TV. It could take place at a cineplex near you. Pauly Shore brought it to the culture, to the movies and to a Blockbuster … Continue reading →

This film festival darling makes it into theaters and streaming on Jan. 5.

“Happy Face” is a challenging, uplifting and life-affirming Canadian dramedy that arrived to little fanfare a couple of years back, but which deserves to finally find its audience as it hits the major streaming services. It’s about disfigured people in … Continue reading →

“Wonder Woman 1984 (WW84)” has the air of a watershed movie moment about it. With Warners and Disney and a pandemic chasing blockbusters out of theaters and onto smaller screens, and even the word “blockbuster” potentially banished from the language, … Continue reading →

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” comes to Netflix with all its poetry, theatricality, fire and guts intact. It’s always been a showcase for the right cast, and stage and screen director George C. Wolfe and stars Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman … Continue reading →

Oscar winner Hilary Swank adds “femme fatale” to her resume with “Fatale,” a torpid, twisty thriller in the “Fatal Attraction” mold. But watching Swank play sexually aggressive, chemically off and ruthlessly violent can’t help but remind the savvy viewer how … Continue reading →

In military terms, “flak” is the product of anti-aircraft artillery, exploding shells hurled skyward, not so much aimed but designed to rattle, disrupt and misdirect enemy aircraft. A “Flack” is the nickname journalists give publicists, professional image managers whose job … Continue reading →

It’d be cruel to single out an actor for the performances, each worse than the next, in the amateurish horror outing “Occurrence at Mills Creek.” A simple “haunted by causing my sister’s death” drama with a dose of “family curse” … Continue reading →

JT plays an ex con who takes a helpful interest in a troubled teen in this Jan. 29 drama. Juno Temple, June Squib and Mr. Mayhem from the car insurance commercials also star.

Today’s dose of Around the World with Netflix takes us to Christmas in Colombia, a manic, noisy farce that begins on the Day of the Little Candles and ends on Christmas Eve — “An Unremarkable Christmas (¡Qué chimba de Navidad!).” … Continue reading →