Category Archives: Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news

It always looks so neat, clean — pristine even — in combat movies or in TV news coverage. The grainy video shows the guided bomb or missile hurtling straight into its target — a direct hit. The commandos charge into … Continue reading →

The production design is impressive and the animation manages to put clearly visible peach fuzz on the hero’s CGI face. And director and screenwriter De DeBlois aims for the heartstrings with a finale that ties up the whole “How to … Continue reading →

Are you pumped? I know I am.

Joseph Heller’s cynical/comical anti-war war novel was one of my favorite books as a teen. Another was “Papillon,” just so’s you know where I’m going with this. This trailer to the Hulu mini-series by George Clooney gets the darkness right, … Continue reading →

Showtime slick and boxing picture predictable, “Cradle of Champions” is about the New York epicenter of Golden Gloves boxing. Journalist/director Bartle Bull picked three veterans of the annual Daily News charity event and followed them on their march towards amateur … Continue reading →

    There’s a rigid formula for coming-of-age documentaries. Pick a group of disadvantaged schoolkids — dancers or mathematicians, athletes or children just desperate to be selected for the top magnet school in the region, ensuring that college is in … Continue reading →

An official Marine Corps videographer shot “Combat Obscura,” a documentary of training, combat and down time footage so raw it’s “The Movie The Marine Corps doesn’t want you to see.” It’s due out in March from the reliably edgy Oscilloscope … Continue reading →

AMPAS, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, has long wanted to shorten their night-long telecast of self-flattery, the Oscars. Years back, when Oscar expert Steve Pond had a book coming out, we discussed this and he said “As … Continue reading →

Who needs ghosts? The past is what haunts us all — what might have been, “the one who got away,” the “path not taken.” This sets up as a tour de force for J.K. Simmons (Sebastian Stan plans his character … Continue reading →

The greatest monsters are the ones grounded in reality. Long before his character reveals anything supernatural in his makeup, the mysterious antiques dealer played by Timothy Spall has given us a vibe. Pervert. The sort who lures children into cars … Continue reading →