Blog Archives

Tear-jerkers are always manipulative movies, and “Wonder” is no different. But tear-jerkers (weepers, if you prefer) that earn those tears honestly are a cut above mere manipulation. And “Wonder,” through depictions of the burdens shouldered by its characters, through jolting … Continue reading →

Summer 2017 at the movies finished with the worst weekend box office take in over 20 years, the worst August in forever and a stunning general decline in ticket sales — 13.4% down from last summer, 5.4% down for the … Continue reading →

Still having a lot of trouble not rolling my eyes over this remake, but if you’re a fan, go nuts.

Does American comedy travel? Not that well, according to the not-that-strong box office returns of most Hollywood laughers. A few major stars open their pictures well overseas, but is Melissa McCarthy one of them? This UK trailer for her raunchy … Continue reading →

Michael Keaton’s March comeback didn’t happen, despite national magazine profiles built around that notion. Quick quiz–which spring film was supposed to launch him on that trail? Hint, Aaron Paul was behind the wheel in it. Here’s the “one-time screen superhero … Continue reading →

The trailer suggests a little of the magic of “The Secret of Kells.” Same Irish animation studio, Cartoon Saloon. More of a fairytale quality (though “Kells” had that, in addition to history and Vikings). Just lovely. Finnula Flanagan and Brendan … Continue reading →

Michael C. Hall and Sam Shepard star in this thriller about a father stumbling into a murderous ex-con. Don Johnson and Vinessa Shaw also star, so this indie picture is aiming for an older demographic.

It’s East meets West, in a culinary sense, in rural France in this — yet another culinary comedy. Helen Mirren is the big name in the cast, playing a famed French chef, maybe who’s lost her edge, when an Indian … Continue reading →

In description, this seems a bit like “The East,” that eco-terrorist film starring Brit Marling, Ellen Page and others. “Night Moves” stars Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning as eco-terrorists out to blow up a hydro dam. We are…intrigued. Eisenberg keeps … Continue reading →

Here’s the first full trailer to Christopher Nolan’s space epic. Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine are the Oscar winners starring in it. The reason for being? Kind of a call for us to redouble our efforts to go “beyond” and … Continue reading →