Monthly Archives: April 2023

“A mother’s love” comes in a most unusual package in “A Thousand and One,” an intimate mother-and-son character study that’s most rewarding in sharing the details of barely scraping by in New York City. A.V. Rockwell’s debut feature is built … Continue reading →

If it’s wrong to use words like “entertaining” in describing the eco-thriller “How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” well sic the Big Oil goons on me and let the chips fall where they may. A movie whose title tells the … Continue reading →

Nothing to do with Volkswagen, not really connected to Ant-Man or The Tick or The Wasp. But in theaters in August. A Mexican superhero with ancient powers? Is he a big deal in Mexico? Is the comic in Spanish, because … Continue reading →

“War Sailor (Krigsseileren)” is a Norwegian Tale of Two Sailors. It’s a somber World War II sea saga of sorrow, sacrifice and everything that can go wrong when you sail your merchant ship repeatedly into harm’s way. Writer-director Gunnar Vikane … Continue reading →

You’re never happy when a great booster of the cinema, a genuine film enthusiast, hangs it up. But if we’re to take Quentin Tarantino at his word, the just-turned-60 Oscar-winning director of “Pulp Fiction,” “Jackie Brown” and “Once Upon a … Continue reading →

On screen hit men and women have had a code — “rules” — going back at least as far John Woo’s “The Killer,” which folded into the early films of Luc Besson (“Nikita,” “Leon: The Professional). Besson added the idea … Continue reading →

April 21, the Florida Film Festival will play host to An Evening with John Cusack, a screening of his Cameron Crowe teen romance classic “Say Anything,” followed by a Q & A moderated by yours truly. If you live in … Continue reading →

Hell, who can keep these straight? “Final trailer,” I mean. Pratt and Saldana and Cooper and Dave and Vin Groot and this week’s villain? OK. May 5. Hard to top this one, tho. It’s got period-appropriate fanboy service pop in … Continue reading →

Writer-director David Helling introduces and adds a filmed postscript to his first feature film, “His Only Son,” something not wholly unheard of in mainstream cinema, but not that unusual in faith-based films. He talks down the film’s budget and talks … Continue reading →

“On the Fringe” might be the most stressful film on Netflix right now. A great cast makes this Spanish drama of desperation and quiet heartbreak not so much hard to watch as unhealthy to internalize. These are portraits of interconnected … Continue reading →