Category Archives: Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news

The voices are mostly bland, the animation detailed but generic and the gags are all variations of low-hanging-fruit in “The Secret Life of Pets,” a comedy built around what our non-speaking companions do when we leave them alone all day. … Continue reading →

Whatever subtlety there was remaining in the satirical intentions of “The Purge” franchise pretty much fly out the door and into the blood-soaked  chaos of “The Purge: Election Night.” Any doubts even the slowest paying patrons had about who and … Continue reading →

The mad pageant that is masked Mexican wrestling earns a sympathetic documentary in “Lucha Mexico,” a behind-the-scenes look at the most popular sport that doesn’t involve a ball among our neighbors South of the Border. Filmmakers Alex Hammond and Ian … Continue reading →

Another blockbuster weekend for Disney/Pixar’s “Finding Dory” doesn’t obscure three other telling facts about July 4, 2016. To wit, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Tarzan” retains a staggeringly lucrative brand identity over 100 years since first publication. Piddling reviews and a lot … Continue reading →

This July 4 weekend, “Dory” is still the box office “BFG.” Or “BFD.” The “Finding Nemo” sequel is slated to pull in another $57 million at the box office, three weeks into release. HUGE hit for Disney and Pixar. It’ll … Continue reading →

Steven Spielberg’s viability as a kids-entertainment brand gets a test this weekend with his stately and stolid adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “The BFG.” I wasn’t nuts about it. Long, stiff, with a third act that has all the action the … Continue reading →

I love Westerns, love filmmakers who put the time in to get the period detail right. Nothing was clean, from sweaty clothes to dirty faces to green teeth. Pistoleros weren’t likely to hit what they were aiming at quickly and … Continue reading →

I’m a car buff, and have been since childhood. Over the years, I’ve owned muscle cars and Mercs,  econoboxes, hot hatches and Jeeps and Mini Coopers — restored a Triumph TR6, and am just waiting on the day I can get … Continue reading →

The embarrassing lack of diversity in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences was nakedly on display this past Oscar season. But the Academy, to its credit, vowed to do something about it, to make its membership look more … Continue reading →

A fairytale-ish musical about troll dolls starring the talking/singing voices of Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake, “Trolls” is a November Dreamworks release relying on names, tunes and toy-branding to attract an audience. Not a laugh is given away in this … Continue reading →