This time last year, I wrote a blog predicting box office totals for each of the major May films. The closest result (I was only off by $4M) was “Star Trek Into Darkness”, which grossed just under $229 million. Combined, the eight films made over $1.4 billion domestically. But that total could actually be surpassed […]

It’s only the middle of April, but it’s never too early to begin analyzing this year’s Awards Season. As Summer rolls in, studios will be unveiling trailers for anticipated contenders. Some, however, have jumped the gun with early marketing campaigns – hoping for some lasting promotional success. So far these films have made good first […]

One-third of the way through the year, there’s no doubt that Pharrell Williams owns the title of most popular entertainer of 2014, thanks to his phenomenon, “Happy”. The upbeat, catchy, and relentless song has been a Billboard hit the past few months. But I first heard (part of) the song last June at a screening […]

As the Summer Movie Season approaches, there are several films (based on their trailers) that look quite promising. These include “Get On Up”, “How to Train Your Dragon 2”, “Transformers: Age of Extinction”, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and “Maleficent”. But there are others that, frankly, could go either way: a solid hit […]

We haven’t seen much of Kelsey Grammer since the premature 2012 cancellation of his Starz political drama, “Boss” (for which he won a Golden Globe). But the 5-time Emmy winner is staging a Summer 2014 comeback on the silver screen. With 5 big movies over a 4 month period, the “Frasier” star clearly hasn’t “left […]

Nickelodeon’s 2014 Kids Choice Awards started out a little slow, but picked-up speed in the final half-hour. Here are the 5 highlights: Who’s “Happy” Under the Sea? – With more than one reference to his Oscar-nominated “Despicable Me 2” song during his banter, presenter Pharrell Williams sported quite possibly his most stylish outfit yet – […]

Following gigs as Superman’s dad and CIA agent, Kevin Costner is back in his wheelhouse: the sports drama, with a touch of humor of course. In “Draft Day”, out April 11, Costner stars as Sonny Weaver, Jr., the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns. Sonny needs to do something big with the first pick in […]

One of 2014’s early trends: Christian-themed movies. Last month, producer Mark Burnett released a film spin-off of his TV miniseries, “The Bible”, with “Son of God”, which has grossed over $55 million to date (and not surprisingly won the Box Office on its opening weekend). While “Divergent”‘s $54.6 million open took most of the box […]

Entertainment Weekly has devoted their current issue to “Criminally Underrated” movies, TV shows, games, books and music. Here are five recent films that I would have included in their movie section (if asked). They’re a handful of films I genuinely liked which, sadly, were almost completely ignored by other critics and audiences: “Labor Day” – […]

While the weekend’s big new release, “Need for Speed”, has some entertaining action sequences, it isn’t a great car racing movie. However, this genre has had some high-powered entries over the past few years – some clear winners and some clunkers. “The Fast & Furious” series has been incredibly popular and successful since it took […]