Monthly Archives: April 2026

One of the most formative books from my movie fanatic youth was Theodore Gershuny’s “Soon to be a Major Motion Picture: The Anatomy of an All-Star, Big-Budget Multi-Million Dollar Disaster.” Gershuny’s on-set/in-the-studio observation of the making of Otto Preminger’s greatest … Continue reading →

He can see it all more clearly in his mind, dissecting every detail, stopping the flow of past events to analyze what might have happened or what he might have done about it. A tragedy of his youth, a covert … Continue reading →

Perhaps the reason Keanu Reeves doesn’t quite grasp the tone in Jonah Hill’s Hollywood star in crisis over a scandal “comedy” “Outcome” is that director, co-writer and co-star Hill didn’t make what he was going for clear. Maybe Hill didn’t … Continue reading →

“You, Me & Tuscany” is a featherweight romance with a pretty cast, lovely scenery, fabulous food and just a hint of charm under all the cliches. It’s a Hallmark Lite rom-com built around live-action “Little Mermaid” star Halle Bailey, who … Continue reading →

The hard-luck brawler of the Aussie mixed-martial arts thriller “Beast” finds himself working for next to nothing on a Sydney harbor trawler at his low point in the movie. He’s a “Jonah,” his jerk skipper insists. Bad luck. No “fish” … Continue reading →

There was critical blowback that rather spoiled the welcome of George Roy Hill’s last classic of the ’70s. Then again, the director of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Sting” and “Slap Shot” was never what we’d call “a … Continue reading →

“It Takes a Village” is a frustrating Polish farce that opens its arms to a world of comic possibilities only to let them all slip through its fingers, one by one. Titled “Podlasie” in Polish, after the region the village … Continue reading →

An impending wedding reels towards going terribly wrong and right off a cliff in “The Drama,” a dry and ever-so-dark romantic comedy starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. The latest from the writer-director of “Dream Scenario” begins awkward, with a “meet … Continue reading →

An imposing and impressive lead performance somewhat atones for an awkwardly structured script and a charisma-starved supporting cast in “A Great Awakening,” the new film biography of the 18th century English preacher who lent The American Revolution some of his … Continue reading →

The Chinese thriller “731” is a wildly ambitious attempt to get a heroic horror movie out of an infamous crime against humanity. By turns macabre and moving, historical and fantastically, spectacularly over-the-top, it can’t be dismissed as simple anti-Japanese “propaganda” … Continue reading →