Monthly Archives: December 2024

Movie Review: “Mufasa,” everything we didn’t need to know about “The Lion King”

The CGI animated savannahs, rivers and rock formations of Africa are photo-real, and the animals populating it have never been more realistically rendered than they are in “Mufasa: The Lion King.” Disney felt the need to have the lions, warthog … Continue reading

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Movie Review: Ladyboss has a taste for being dominated — “Babygirl”

Dutch actress-turned-director Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl” is an icy, clinical inversion of our idea of masochism and “abuse of power” in the workplace. The director of “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies” sets up Nicole Kidman as a “woman on top” at the office, … Continue reading

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Movie Review: Robert Eggers’ “Christmas Carol” with fangs — “Nosferatu”

With just a handful of films, Robert Eggers has established himself as the Merchant/Ivory, Powell and Pressburger of horror. The writer, director and most tellingly production designer of “The Witch,” “The Lighthouse” and “The Northman” creates exquisitely detailed lithographic prints … Continue reading

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The Best Christmas Day for Movies in a Generation — What are you going to see?

So many movies already open, opening or opening in limited release this Christmas. The fact that you don’t have to limit yourself to a “Sonic,”“Gladiator” or “Moana” sequel, a musical suffering from elephantiasis or a “Lion King” prequel should be … Continue reading

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Movie Review: Bob the Bard in Epic strokes, Dylan as “A Complete Unknown”

Boyd Holbrook’s Johnny Cash out-cools, out-swaggers and out hell-raises future Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan in Dylan’s own biopic. I wonder if “A Complete Unknown” director James Mangold ever winced and muttered “Damn” about who he originally cast to star … Continue reading

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Movie Review: Woman Boxer shows us “The Fire Inside”

A couple of great performances lift “The Fire Inside,” a generally conventional “fight picture” about a boxer long odds in pursuit of Olympic glory. The novelty to this compact genre drama from cinematographer turned director Rachel Morrison and Oscar winning … Continue reading

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Netflixable? Dutch underworld’s less of a treat in “Ferry 2”

The Dutch underworld saga of “Ferry” Bouman finishes with something like a flourish in “Ferry 2,” the sequel to a gritty rise-of-a-“Pill King” in the Amsterdam underworld tale. But a lot of what precedes that flash finale is pretty frustrating, … Continue reading

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Series Preview: Former President DeNiro tries to save us from another “Zero Day”

Netflix is in the Bobby DeNiro business. This thriller series about the aftermath of a cyber attack on America, and the threat of another, premieres Feb. 20.

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Movie Review: French couple constrained by the limits of “Just the Two of Us”

“Just the Two of Us” is a textbook domestic abuse melodrama, a French film with just enough mystery about it to make us wonder if it will transform into a thriller. Based on a novel by Éric Reinhardt, Valérie Donzelli’s … Continue reading

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Documentary Preview: A longer (full trailer) look at “Becoming Led Zeppelin”

It’s been a long lonely lonely lonely time. But that ends this Feb. “Authorized” and sanitized? Sure. Still looks fun.

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