Yearly Archives: 2023

Here we go again, Ellen Burstyn may be 90, but she’s still getting a demon exorcising job done. My review is here.

Netflix has had very good luck with World War movies, mostly made abroad. This three part series, set in WWII France, is about a blind radio operator speaking out about the darkness of fascism, and a German soldier witnessing this … Continue reading →

They didn’t use words like “groomer” way back when. But if this isn’t the most famous case of it — ever — I don’t know what is. Cailee Spaeny has the title role. Aussie Jacob Elordi is The King….who liked … Continue reading →

“Love is in the Air” is an an inane and scenic romance from Australia, a “Hallmark Movie” is all but name. This Netflix release is an old-fashioned “fish out of water” comedy that’s rarely comic, a city boy/gal from the … Continue reading →

Two old friends from the Old West reconnect after a separation. Pedro Almodovar’s Western is a short film, only thirty minutes long. But Sony Pictures Classics will be coupling it to Almodovar’s 2020 short “The Human Voice,” starring Tilda Swinton … Continue reading →

Joan Baez wrapped up her 60 year career as a folk music icon and very public global civil rights activist with a 2019 show in Madrid, an exclamation point at the end of decades of thrilling, often landmark performances, protests … Continue reading →

This paranoid sci-fi thriller, based on a hit novel by Rumaan Alam, comes to theaters in Nov. and then Netflix Dec. 7. “Mr. Robot” veteran Sam Esmail makes his feature film debut directing this, with BBC “Industry” star Myha’la Herrold … Continue reading →

There are a lot of telltale signs that “Grieve,” a pretentious, cryptic and childishly obscurant title loosely labeled as “horror” and inexplicably picked up for distribution by Terror Films, might be a student film. I try not to review student … Continue reading →

“Reptile” ends with a few delicious twists and such a satisfying punch that it’s a shame we have to talk about “Netflix editing” again, that lack of cutting that makes even a pretty smart and dense thriller play like a … Continue reading →

Before the band that would Change the World became The Beatles, the template for all rock quartets to follow, they had a floating lineup of many musicians of varying talents, generally taking the stage with six members. In addition to … Continue reading →