Meg Ryan last acted in a movie eight years ago. She also directed 2015’s “Ithaca”. Ryan returns to the director’s chair, and partners with David Duchovny on-screen, in the new romantic comedy, “What Happens Later”. Of course, she’s best known for starring in three of the most iconic rom-coms of all-time: “When Harry Met Sally”, […]
I’ve always had a great amount of respect for Taylor Swift. Growing up, her music was dominating the charts and the radio. She was also venturing into the movies, with a voice role in “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” and song contributions to “The Hunger Games” and “One Chance”, both earning Golden Globe nominations. Tunes like […]
“She Came to Me” is hard to describe. Looking at the poster, with a New York City backdrop behind stars Peter Dinklage, Anne Hathaway and Marisa Tomei, you might think it’s a love triangle romantic comedy And maybe, since it is set in The Big Apple, you might predict it’s one of those rom-coms filled […]
Writer/director John Carney knows how to make music shine in his movies. His breakthrough 2007 drama “Once” featured the Oscar-winning song “Falling Slowly”. Tunes performed by Keira Knightley and Adam Levine rocked in “Begin Again”. And “Sing Street” is one of my 20 favorite films of the past 10 years. So my expectations were high […]
“The Hill” is a based-on-a-true story sports drama co-written by Angelo Pizzo, who wrote 1986’s “Hoosiers” and 1993’s “Rudy”. Not a bad resume for the genre. The A-list actor headlining “The Hill” is Dennis Quaid, who’s starred in more than a dozen sports films, including “The Rookie”, “The Express”, “Any Given Sunday” and “Blue Miracle”. […]
If you don’t count this past February’s “Marlowe” (which was much more of a slow-paced drama than an action film), it’s actually been 16-months since the last Liam Neeson thriller. So, I guess we were due. Here comes “Retribution”. The first thing writer Chris Salmanpour and director Nimrod Antal had to decide was what to […]
“Jules” is “E.T. AARP”. Milton, a 78-year-old small-town Pennsylvania resident (played by Ben Kingsley) discovers a spaceship in his backyard. Milton’s first instinct is to call 911, which he does — but, of course, the operator doesn’t believe him. Soon an alien emerges from craft. From the start of the film we’re led to believe […]
Netflix and A24 team-up for the compelling documentary, “The Deepest Breath”. The film takes a deep dive into the extreme—ly dangerous world of freediving, through the lives of two of the sport’s most iconic participants. Director Laura McGann begins by introducing us to multi-world record holder Alessia Zecchini and safety instructor/trainer Stephen Keenan using archival […]
Two former middle school besties who haven’t seen each other in nearly 30-years reconnect and end-up going on holiday together in the new French dramedy “Two Tickets to Greece”. Writer/director Marc Fitoussi’s film is intentionally set in those glorious pre-pandemic days of 2019 (there are a couple not so subtle nods to what’s to come). […]
Jennifer Lawrence is known for starring in R-rated comedies. She won an Oscar for her performance in one (“Silver Linings Playbook”) and was nominated the next year for her work in another (“American Hustle”). But “No Hard Feelings” is Lawrence’s entry into the *raunchy* R-rated comedy genre, and it’s not where she belongs. Lawrence plays […]