Category Archives: Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news

Every musical is built around songs of aspiration, “dream songs” in which a character can’t express emotions and hopes in mere words. She or he just has to sing them, maybe do a little dance as she does. Think of … Continue reading →

A few words, then, in praise of Kirsten Lane, music consultant on films from “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz” to “Love Actually” and “Bridget Jones’s Baby” and now the musically overloaded “Baby Driver.” Music is an integral part … Continue reading →

You don’t hear about or see the ramifications of the “Fountain Valley massacre” when you visit St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. But there are ghosts there, if you recognize what you’re seeing. One of the less developed islands, … Continue reading →

Nobody was gung-ho about digging into the Transformers toybox again. Not Michael Bay, not Mark Wahlberg or the few other folks who could be called recurring characters. So let’s assume everybody got paid, and HOW, to concoct the worst movie … Continue reading →

The symbolic becomes the literal in João Pedro Rodrigues’s “The Ornithologist,” a Biblical allegory set in the wilds of Portugal. The title character (Paul Hamy) is a man of science, trained to study birds and their behavior.  He has an accident on … Continue reading →

There’s trouble on the stand-alone “Han Solo” prequel at Lucasfilms. As in, cartoon directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” “The LEGO Movie”) delivered a film that Lucasfilm isn’t happy with it. The all-important “tone” … Continue reading →

You don’t see the “Baby Driver” practicing his craft, rehearsing for the getaways he’ll have to race through from bank jobs and armored car heists. He doesn’t have a hands-on interest in automobiles, which he can steer the wheels off of … Continue reading →

I haven’t kept the fact that this summer of sequels is just a-wearing me out. People asking, “What movie are you looking FORWARD to?” And I answer with any title that springs to mind that doesn’t have a number after … Continue reading →

I guess, in acting terms, 60 is the new 85. Because Daniel Day-Lewis, just a couple of months past that milestone birthday, has announced he’s giving up a profession he seemingly mastered. Acting will join a long list of many … Continue reading →

The summer of “ENOUGH already” continues at the cinema with the arrival of the fifth “Transformers” movie. The  cars are upgraded to AMGs, Astons and Lambos, and all those kids you’re tempted to take to it learn how funny using … Continue reading →