2017’s “Jerry Before Seinfeld” was a one-hour Netflix special that served as part stand-up/part documentary. The streaming giant is assuring viewers that Seinfeld’s new special “23 Hours to Kill” is his first one with all-new, original material since 1998’s “I’m Telling You for the Last Time”. Following an open featuring (who we believe to be) […]
– You know a comedy’s not funny when the only laughs come from the bloopers during the end credits. – You know a movie has bad performances when even the one guy playing himself does a terrible job. – And you know when a movie is going after cheap emotions when it includes a dying […]
Academy Award nominated “Chico & Rita” directors Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal have made a new animated feature for grown-ups — a unique, moving investigation documentary drama. “They Shot the Piano Player”, starring Jeff Goldblum as the narrator and voice of journalist / author Jeff Harris, opens in New York City and Los Angeles for […]
“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 […]
We’ve reached the halfway point of 2022. So it’s time for me to name the best movies and performances of 2022 so far. Please note that while some of the films listed below qualified for awards consideration and were first screened to some audiences in 2021, I — and general audiences in the U.S. — […]
Dean Fleischer-Camp directs and co-stars in new feature “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”, which takes the beloved animated character from the popular online shorts (voiced by Jenny Slate) and brings him to the big screen. It opens in New York City and Los Angeles this Friday June 24th and expands nationwide on July 15th. […]
Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” will open in 50 theaters on Oct. 22 before expanding nationwide one week later on the 29th. Anderson’s first release during my time as a film critic was 2007’s “The Darjeeling Limited”. I remember seeing the trailers for it before several films, but I didn’t actually go see “Darjeeling”. Not […]
I’ve screened all 10 episodes of Season 2 of AppleTV+ drama series “The Morning Show”. The first episode is now available on the streaming service, with a new episode dropping every Friday until November 19th. I watched the first three episodes of Season 1 in October 2019, about a week before they helped kick off […]
“I thought L.A. traffic was bad… and then I lived in China for two years.” That’s what “Wish Dragon” director Chris Appelhans told me when I recently interviewed him for his new Sony and Netflix animated feature (debuting next Friday June 11th). Appelhans believes traffic in and around the city of Los Angeles is “nothing” […]
I’ll be honest: I did NOT think “Bad Trip” was going to be the funniest movie of 2021, so far. Hidden camera/prank comedies (such as “Impractical Jokers: The Movie” and “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa”) are always very hit and miss. However, “Bad Trip”, which combines pranks and outrageous ‘filmed on camera’ moments with a legitimate […]