Yearly Archives: 2023

The summer blockbuster I’ve most been intrigued to see. Tom Cruise treats these films like a covenant with the audience/fanbase. He does not break that covenant.

A solitary, older “Baker” “becomes the Butcher” in this man-takes-care-of-a-child he doesn’t know, and “takes care of business” thriller. Looks good, and a lot like the Gena Rowlands “Gloria” and Jean Reno/Natalie P. “The Professional.”

The thing about the great film stars of the past is that they’d often as not embrace their screen “persona” and rarely make the effort to “stretch” as an actor. Bette Davis to Tracy, Peck and Wayne to Deborah Kerr … Continue reading →

In the introduction to her psychological biography “The Farrows of Hollywood: Their Dark Side of Paradise,” critic and film scholar Marilyn Ann Moss declares “I intend neither accusations nor support of Mia Farrow, the Farrow family or Woody Allen in … Continue reading →

The creators of the series “Hijack” set two priorities for themselves in their “real time” seven part “seven hour flight” thriller. Priority one, Get Idris Elba. Priority two, try to squeeze a Big Surprise or two in most every episode. … Continue reading →

There is a superbly-detailed, thrillingly-pitched and well-acted film account of the 1942 Czech assassination of “Reichsprotektor” Reinhard Heidrich, the murderous Nazi nicknamed “The Hangman” during his military rule of occupied Czechoslovakia during World War II. It’s titled “Anthropoid,” and it … Continue reading →

Well-cast and acted with sympathic warmth and wit, “Making it Up” is an object lesson in the shortcomings of relying on voice-over narration to tell your story on screen. It’s a dark, maddeningly-manic and almost cute dip into loving someone … Continue reading →

You’ve got Seth Rogen and Nick Offerman and I guess Vincent D’Onofrio as hedge fund villains upbended when a youngish investor/online influencer (Paul Dano) convinces Nerdword that these jerks shouldn’t be allowed to destroy the beloved but outmoded video game … Continue reading →

The whole vibe of this Aug 4 MGM+ release is unsettling. A wimpy kid trapped in the company of a psychopath, slaughtering folks from the life of that kid as a sort of “lesson” to “change” or “save” a “loser?” … Continue reading →

The final “FINAL” installment in the 43 year old Indiana Jones franchise, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” is making an exit worthy of a series that going on three generations have been showing up for. No, the movie’s … Continue reading →