Monthly Archives: February 2023

A lady with a bone to pick about the villainous role history has assigned Richard III, thanks in large part to Wm. Shakespeare, decides she can find out where the fellow is buried. Stephen Frears re-teams with Steve Coogan, his … Continue reading →

By the time somebody on screen finally acknowledges that somebody else in “Somebody I Used Know” is doing “some Julia Roberts ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ s–t,” we’re already way ahead of her and this movie. That halfway-mark give-away is amusingly-late … Continue reading →

This Nike Air Jordan success story is slated for the first weekend in April, after March Madness, just as the NBA playoffs get rolling. And yes, the trailer suggests it pushes all the right buttons. April 5, Be Like Mike.

It bowls the viewer over with ham-fisted, theatrical excess, a grandiose exclamation point on the tail end of the Golden Age of screen satire. Peter Barnes sees to it that his class-eviscerating theatrical talk-a-thon “The Ruling Class” makes it to … Continue reading →

The names have been changed, but the PBS painter/mesmerizer and womanizer is plainly the inspiration for this one. And if there is a comic actor who more embodies the phrase “Happy little clouds” (probably copyrighted, almost certainly not in the … Continue reading →

A woman’s troubled psychological journey begins at what might be her final destination in “Stromboli,” a Dutch self-help dramedy of the “Eat, Pray Love” variety, performed in English. It’s a vigorously edited-down version of the novel by Saskia Noort, a … Continue reading →

They call them “Reader’s Festivals,” “Book Festivals” and “Writer’s Festivals.” They used to be organized by colleges and newspapers and the like — some still are. Such events can have a Chamber of Commerce appeal, pulling in readers from all … Continue reading →

As dark as “The Grifters,” as over-the-top as “The Sting,” “Sharper” is a fresh take on a time-tested genre, a “Who can you trust?” tale from the Land of the Big Con. No, you’re never wholly sure of who’s grifting … Continue reading →

A single mom nags her teen son into getting up and out the door to school. As an Aussie, she’s got one ultimatum that works every time. “No school, no ‘footie.’” They arrive, and she stays on campus with him. … Continue reading →

Aussie actress Krew Boylan turns out to be a better Dolly Parton impersonator than screenwriter in “Seriously Red,” her self-scripted star vehicle. It’s a self-serious and seriously-confusing identity crisis comedy tucked into what might have been a gender role romp … Continue reading →