Monthly Archives: March 2023

I don’t know about you, but “jaunty” can cover a lot of sins and do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to movies based on flimsy, or should we say “less traditional” narratives — games, for instance. “Dungeons … Continue reading →

Comic actor, TV director and “Robot Chicken” co-creator Seth Green’s feature writing and directing debut ventures into Zach Braff “sensitive” territory, and never quite comes off. “Changeland” is a mashup of Thai travelogue, morose man on a soul-searching quest and … Continue reading →

For years, the gold standard for savage physical beat-downs depicted on screen was Chan-wook Park’s “Oldboy,” whose most visceral scene is a long-held-hostage “hero’s” furious claw-hammer takedown of an entire gang standing between him and his enraged revenge upon his … Continue reading →

The stakes that characters are struggling for in a story matter, even in kid’s literature. And you can’t wholly appreciate what the children and adults are battling over in J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world until you read or see a knockoff … Continue reading →

“Chantilly Lace” was an all-star, largely-improvised 1993 “friends through the years” dramedy memorable mainly for its cast. This Sundance indie — that was its filming location and the place it premiered — featured Talia Shire from the “Godfather” and “Rocky” … Continue reading →

Here’s another variation on the shlub whose only shot at a beautiful woman is if he’s “The Last Man on Earth,” this one a movie and not a Fox TV series. This wan Colombian comedy — “El Último Hombre Sobre … Continue reading →

History barely remembers they were at Woodstock, as they were left out of the film due to contract issues. Their Grammy glory came the year before that awards show was recorded on videotape. They played Vegas, the epitome of “selling … Continue reading →

A “Zodiac” true story serial killer thriller earns a “She Said” styled treatment in “Boston Strangler,” a newspaper procedural about the dogged reporting that turned up clues and held an inept police department’s feet to the fire in an infamous … Continue reading →

“The Tutor” is an engaging, well-acted and suspenseful thriller that stumbles through a string of plot holes on its way to a predictably unsatisfying ending. It toys with class, privilege and the injustices of crime and punishment and only seems … Continue reading →

One of the advantages to streaming services is that they afford you the chance to repeatedly rewind, to help you catch a plot twist you may have missed or unravel a conclusion that seems muddled. Which is exactly what I … Continue reading →