1971’s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and 2005’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” are two of my 100 favorite films of all-time. I consider both adaptations of the classic Roald Dahl story to be brilliant. Both Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp deliver powerful versions as the fascinating, multi-dimensional, dynamic chocolate-maker extraordinaire. When I learned […]
“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”. […]
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 […]
The breathtaking, epic love story, “Weathering with You” was my favorite animated movie of 2019. Makoto Shinkai, the writer/director of that Annie nominee, as well as 2016’s acclaimed “Your Name”, returns with another triumph. “Suzume” is a spectacular anime adventure that makes you believe in the unbelievable. Bicycling to school one morning, the teen girl […]
“Mr. Malcolm’s List” is directed by Emma Holly Jones and written by Suzanne Allain, who based the screenplay on her 2009 novel (of the same name) about romance and class distinction in 19th Century London. I’m about to give this film a very positive review, something I genuinely didn’t think would be happening after watching […]
It was Saturday March 14th, 2020. The world had shut down the day before. I was looking for something to do at home, so I watched “Stargirl”, which had dropped on Disney+ the day before. The feature film adaptation of the popular 2000 novel by Jerry Spinelli starred “America’s Got Talent” winner Grace VanderWaal in […]
“Flora & Ulysses” is based on the Newbery award winning 2013 novel, “Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures” by award-winning author Kate DiCamillo. She is one of the most talented and respected children’s fiction writers of our time. And she’s not unfamiliar with her work being adapted to the screen, including both “Because of Winn-Dixie” […]
“Superintelligence” is Melissa McCarthy’s fourth film collaboration with director/husband Ben Falcone. Previous efforts “Tammy”, “The Boss” and “Life of the Party” all underperformed in the humor department. This latest venture fits right in line. “Superintelligence” was shot more than two years ago. It initially had a Christmas 2019 theatrical release target. But last Fall, McCarthy […]
It’s unclear why director Robert Zemeckis, co-writer Guillermo del Toro, producer Alfonso Cuaron and Warner Bros. thought a new version of “The Witches” was necessary. The 1983 Roald Dahl novel is not one of his most celebrated works. The 1990 movie starring Anjelica Huston, though liked by critics, only made $10 million at the box […]
“The War with Grandpa” was shot in May 2017. Why is it finally being released more than three years later? Well, it used to be a Weinstein Company movie and was in limbo for most of that time until 101 Studios picked it up. This family comedy, based on a 1984 book, is basically “Diary […]