Category Archives: Reviews

It took decades of biting, testy collaborations and the better part of two road-trip movies, but Rob Brydon finally makes his pal/sparring partner Steve Coogan crack up, laughing, in “The Trip to Italy.” The formula of “The Trip” is repeated … Continue reading →

I’m not sure how this romantic emphasis on the life and work of Stephen Hawking jibes with the truth. His love life, for those who have read of it, has been pretty complicated and messy. But Eddie Redmayne,  Felicity Jones … Continue reading →

Daniel Radcliffe has another nice cinematic separation from Harry Potter opening in limited release Friday (wider release next week, and in weeks to follow). “What If” is a lame title for a lovely little romantic comedy about a guy who … Continue reading →

What the what? Scarlett Johansson, once mocked by a producer of”The Island” for NOT being box office enough to get a sci-fi film off the ground, Woody Allen’s fixation for a few years, new Avenger and now — newly crowned … Continue reading →

At the end of our chat about “A Most Wanted Man,” in which he has a wonderfully conflicted, out-of-his-depth banker role, I asked Willem Dafoe about the film he just finished, “Pasolini” with Abel “King of New York” Ferrara. Here’s … Continue reading →

The eccentric whimsy and invention overfill the screen of Michel Gondry’s “Mood Indigo,” an adaptation of a novel by the Frenchman who wrote “I Spit on Your Graves.” Set in an alternate “Brazil”/”Delicatessen”/”Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” reality, it’s … Continue reading →

Long one of my favorite character actors, Willem Dafoe had a juicy part in “The Fault in Our Stars” and has an even better one in “A Most Wanted Man,” the latest thriller based on a John le Carre novel … Continue reading →

You could kind of sense the low-heat with which the latest “Planet of the Apes” sequel is being treated by the Interwebs — little traffic on trailers, and the rave reviews (mine was somewhat less than rave, but very positive). … Continue reading →

It started as “a narrative problem,” writer-director Richard Linklater says. “How do you tell a story, with actors, over a long period of time? You can’t re-cast it when you’re catching up with somebody, year by year. The change in … Continue reading →

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is an action-packed epic, a moving sci-fi allegory rendered in broad, lush strokes by the latest state of the computer animator’s art. Yes, you will believe a chimp can talk, ride a horse … Continue reading →