Monthly Archives: May 2023

A Bollywood-length comic satire, “¡Que viva México!” is not a film for those wholly unfamiliar with Mexico and its political schisms and their history, or for the faint of bladder. Director and co-writer Luis Estrada gives us an immersion in … Continue reading →

The truly revolutionary films hit you with how ordinary they can seem on first glance. But that’s just how much they changed the cinema that followed. What they did transformed the way people watched, considered and made movies, rendering all … Continue reading →

There have been two Nia Vardalos movies based on this family, that wedding, and the love that blossomed under the dolmades and retsina. There was a TV series. Nia V. did a movie playing a tour guide in Greece, “My … Continue reading →

Our performative “Attention Culture” didn’t begin with Youtube. Actually, it pretty much did. Winter did great explainer docs about Blockchain and The Panama Papers. This looks like another winner from the Bill to Keanu’s Ted.

“Road Rally Racers” is an Anglo-Welsh production of an Anglo-American animated film set in China, and released by U.S. based distributor Viva Kids. I think I have all that straight — Vanguard Animation, Riverstone Pictures, Viva Kids. Right. It’s an … Continue reading →

This June 9 French language romance is from Pietro Marcello, director of the Italian drama based on a Jack London novel, “Martin Eden.” A real-life “Juliette,” Juliette Jouan, stars, with Ralph Thierry and that Louis Garrel fellow, most recently seen … Continue reading →

In action pictures, “over the top” is rarely a bad thing. A little “ludicrous” is a given. But even by those grade-on-the-curve standards, “The Mother,” the new Jennifer Lopez thriller about an assassin trying to protect the daughter she never … Continue reading →

Texas filmmaker Robert Rodriguez never became a “brand,” which seems kind of a shame when you’re wondering how to sell his latest, a thriller titled “Hypnotic.” “From the fevered mind of Robert Rodriguez” seems to sum it up, and would … Continue reading →

“Crater” is a slick, cutesie kids’ action melodrama that makes the point that no matter where we transport them, human kids will be kids. And left to their own reckless devices, they’ll go all “Goonies” on you, even on the … Continue reading →

“The Favorite.” “The Lobster.” Now, Sept. 8, oddness incarnate, “Poor Things.”