Category Archives: Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news

“Refuge” is a frankly stupid and formulaic “whodunit” wrapped in torture, retribution and guilt from all the dirty secrets men keep. Four friends since high school head off to a hunting/fishing cabin in the woods, rounded-up and driven there by … Continue reading →

“Watching Mr. Pearson” is an indie outing with “Sunset Boulevard” as its original mailing address. A drama about an aged actor lost in his old roles, with two caregivers indulging his “harmless” dementia and acting out his old scripts with … Continue reading →

Magical realism curdles into magical futurism in “The Blue Trail,” a parable about the hell of growing old in a society that claims to worship the elderly, but which reallys wants them warehoused and out of the way. Amazingly, this … Continue reading →

The Brits may have popularized the feminine fury as assassin/secret agent via the James Bond films and the Diana Rigg-led “Avengers” on TV. World cinema — from America to Asia — took inspiration from that. But it was the French, … Continue reading →

And now for something for those who like their comic horror thrillers to deliver “more of the same, please.” “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” takes us deeper into the worst “marry money” mistake of a young blonde’s life. … Continue reading →

His misses are so rare between his many hits that we don’t think of Ryan Gosling as ever taking an errant step on his rise ro stardom. But a “Gangster Squad,” “Song to Song” or “The Gray Man” turns up … Continue reading →

I am at a loss when trying to come up with an Oscar nominated short film that I’ve ever felt was unworthy of being in the field. Something about the process of submission, how seriously those who vote to winnow … Continue reading →

The brawls have to do most of the heavy lifting in your typical martial arts genre picture, even the ones in a scenic setting. That’s doubly true in “The Forbidden City,” a stumbling and generally indifferent kung fu thriller with … Continue reading →

The ’70s are widely regarded as the cinema’s second gilded age, and with good reason. As the audience shrank to date movie kids, action and genre addicts who thought drive-ins were the best way to watch a movie or discerning, … Continue reading →

A little old-fashioned movie star charisma and sex appeal spice up the latest from romance novelist Colleen Hoover, “Reminders of Him.” An overwrought and only slightly less far fetched romantic melodrama than her edgier and abusive “This Ends with Us,” … Continue reading →