Category Archives: Reviews

“Casting is 90 percent” of movie-making, the old maxim goes, and nowhere is that more obvious than the Marvel corps assembled for these Avengers movies. Everybody looks right for the part, can play pathos and humor with aplomb and just … Continue reading →

Most movie reviews treat you to that telling moment when a perhaps promising comedy, thriller or drama goes wrong. Unless, of course, the script, direction or performances never take a false step. But it’s easier to talk about “Private Number” … Continue reading →

Racism and faith, hatred and friendship, bullying and war, atomic bombs and the consequences of using them — heavy stuff to pack into a faith-based film. And one aimed at children. “Little Boy” is loaded with weighty subjects and teachable … Continue reading →

Hollywood long ago ceded “love that stands the test of time” to the realm of science fiction and fantasy, so “The Age of Adaline” falls neatly into a genre that includes “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” “About Time,” and even “Somewhere … Continue reading →

The century-old open wound of Gallipoli, Australia’s ill-fated entry into World War I, makes a vivid and grim backdrop for Russell Crowe’s “The Water Diviner,” a sensitive and sentimental story about a grieving father looking for the bodies of the … Continue reading →

Blake Lively says she loves the idea of getting older. The original “Gossip Girl” has gone on the record about enjoying aging out of girlhood. But in youth-obsessed Hollywood, married to Ryan Reynolds in a wedding featured in Martha Stewart’s … Continue reading →

OK, that’s snarky. But whatever the “Star Wars” continuation promises, I don’t expect much in the way of out-of-body novelty that the first film delivered. It has sentiment going for it, 40 years of improvements in effects, a cooler rollerball … Continue reading →

“The Most Dangerous Game” is one of the more enduring thriller formulas. About a big game hunter who longs to take a shot at human beings, “the most dangerous” of all game “animals,” it’s been adapted every few years since … Continue reading →

She’s the original “Gossip Girl,” and a charter member of “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” She’s made an impact in dramas such as “The Town” and “Savages.” But “The Age of Adaline” is Blake Lively’s biggest big screen splash … Continue reading →

When she read the script for “Desert Dancer,” her latest film, Freida Pinto says she didn’t truly fathom how literal that title was until well into rehearsals. A dancer of some experience, as evidenced by her breakout turn in Danny … Continue reading →