Category Archives: Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news

Is the Han Solo stand-alone storyline re-opening an old George Lucas recut and messed up “A New Hope” debate? Maybe. Probably. And is one character from that debated scene glimpsed in the climactic brawl? Maybe.

So much for the hope that the back-engineered “prequels” in the “Star Wars” universe would rescue these space operas from the bloat and boredom that J.J. Abrams and friends have given them. “Solo: A Star Wars Story” is a two … Continue reading →

It’s about the run-up to the Iraq invasion, it stars Tommy Lee Jones, Jessica Biel, Milla Jovovich, James Marsden, Woody Harrelson and Rob Reiner, who also directed it. Yes, Reiner’s an outspoken liberal and thus a critic of Bush and … Continue reading →

Et tu, Netflix? Here I am, trying to track down “The Quiller Memorandum,” and you don’t have the rights/bandwidth capacity to be the World’s Greatest Repository of 100 years of Feature Films. But you’re spending money on another GD zombie … Continue reading →

First impressions matter, and Natalie Dormer’s was a corker. The British bombshell first gained notice as Anne Boleyn in TV’s “The Tudors,”  insatiable, scheming, the encyclopedic picture of “man eater.” It’s an image that’s followed her, for good or ill, … Continue reading →

The French street artist JR (Jean-Rene…something) takes evocative photographs, blows them and plasters them on walls, alleys, rooftops — public spaces. Think of a more sentimental Banksy, somebody whose work is more about delight than provocation. Agnés Varda is one … Continue reading →

Yes, “Deadpool 2” had the second highest pre-release ticket sales in presales history, yes, it is opening to $132 million — a new R-rated record for R-rated times. No, “Book Club” didn’t erupt, but it did a nice, grandmotherly $13-16 … Continue reading →

Oh, the Dog Days of late August. Studios dump movies that couldn’t hack it in summer, couldn’t break free of the pack in fall. But this twisted Muppets go Blue in a Melissa McCarthy murder mystery is “No ‘Sesame, All … Continue reading →

Roger and Kim had a dram or two when we were in Windsor last fall.