Category Archives: Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news

Peter Hedges is that rare screenwriter and director whose movies are about character and emotion and family, old grievances and new hope, a sense of place. He scripted “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” based on his novel, and wrote and directed … Continue reading →

  Perhaps one has been too hasty when one has declared “Is there anything worse than Imitation Tarantino, than Guy Ritchie Lite?” Because when wild card and now Oscar-winner Sam Rockwell’s involved, and Simon Callow and a bevy of screwy … Continue reading →

Two strangers dressed in black arrive by train at a small Hungarian town. It’s August 1945 and this little corner of Hungary seems all but untouched by the World War that is just now winding up in the Pacific. Aside … Continue reading →

  How do you film a movie about the infamous jungle prison colony of French Guiana in Serbia and Malta, which have no jungle? Badly and cheaply, it turns out. “Papillon” was a best selling if largely discredited autobiography of … Continue reading →

Two men try to keep themselves and their families alive during the Rwandan Genocide and a rich Nashville businessman reaches out to his rape-victim daughter in “Beautifully Broken,” a not-inspirational-enough real-life drama directed by music video veteran Eric Welch.’ You … Continue reading →

If you or your child ever shed a tear when yet another Roomba bit the dust, then “A.X.L.” may be the movie for you. A misguided kiddie action pic that combines motocross and a fetching, tail-wagging, howling robotic military dog … Continue reading →

Her momma could’ve warned her, about that deal with the Devil you make when you get yourself marked with that “sexual” label. Granted, a “Suspira” remake (sort of) with Tilda Swinton and erotic modern dance is not “Fifty Shades Shakes … Continue reading →

There’s nothing scarier than a little girl with the right glower. Ellie has it. Red hair tied in a bun, freckles, she’s imp-sized. But when we first see the “Prodigy,” it’s from behind. She’s in a straight jacket. “Do not … Continue reading →

The major (and minor) Hollywood studios tend to dump movies onto the last two weekends in August, films that have limited box office prospects, damaged goods that their research tells them audiences won’t care to see, word of mouth won’t … Continue reading →

The grey gathering gloom that hangs over “Super Dark Times” seeps into your bones. It’s a ’90s teen thriller that has hints of “Stand By Me” and “River’s Edge” about it. And when it isn’t annoying the living hell out … Continue reading →