Category Archives: Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news

Gerard Butler had his moment. Great fame didn’t come to him in the title role of “The Phantom of the Opera,” or via that sweet, sentimental indie romance, “Dear Frankie.” But when it did, by virtue of his brutish, manly … Continue reading →

The Ohio high school’s class trip to Washington, D.C. was a bit of a bust. Until, that is, one classmate had the chutzpah to get on a pay phone, make a call and make a pitch. Before they know it, … Continue reading →

“Last Flag Flying” is Richard Linklater’s homage to “The Last Detail,” a dark service comedy that was an early screen triumph for Jack Nicholson. But Linklater’s film, about old comrades-in-arms traveling to bury the just killed-in-action son of one of … Continue reading →

Meh, I’ve seen worse. Every year exposes the movie reviewing fellowship to a couple of delusional, talent-free putzes with the family money and the chutzpah to get a movie made and “distributed.” I saw one back in September, “Mike Boy,” … Continue reading →

It’s an enduring myth of screen comedies that directors who know their material isn’t all that can somehow wring laughs out of it through retakes. Their instructions to the actors in such cases are an inside Hollywood cliche. “Again, but … Continue reading →

“Devil’s Whisper” is a demonic possession thriller with a Spanglish twist. This time, the family under threat has history with this demon, has a kid aspiring to become a Catholic priest under its own roof, and the curses and warnings … Continue reading →

He’s been champion of the actor’s art, a great interview and on chat shows from late night TV to “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” a charming and hilarious mimic. His Oscar-winning career got a third act streaming-TV boost from the Netflix … Continue reading →

    Long before “Seinfeld” gave us “Festivus,” “feats of strength” were a regular feature of vaudeville, touring circuses and The Roaring ’20s. That was the heyday of  “The Mighty Atom,” a steel-bending, car-pulling (with his teeth, or his hair), … Continue reading →

Not everyone who survived the Holocaust is cut out to bear witness on it for the rest of us. Some never got over the trauma, never wanted to mention it, even to family, never wore short sleeves so that others … Continue reading →

Before Watergate, the story that made the once-sleepy, provincial Washington Post’s political reputation was the publishing of “The Pentagon Papers.” Steven Spielberg has rounded up Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, and vast collection of top flight character actors … Continue reading →