John Belushi was an original cast member of “Saturday Night Live”. He starred in two of the most iconic and quotable comedies of the past 50 years: “Animal House” and “The Blues Brothers”. Most people are very familiar with his work and the circumstances surrounding his death. Did the world really need a new John […]
The trend of studios picking-up movies previously in limbo continues. Paramount, the studio that helped give Margot Robbie her big break with 2013’s “The Wolf of Wall Street”, is now distributing her latest film. “Dreamland” first screened in April 2019 at the Tribeca Film Festival. The setting is 1935 Texas. 17-year-old Eugene (played by Finn […]
Is “Hillbilly Elegy” the movie that will finally earn six-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams and seven-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close their gold statues? Well, maybe for one of them. Director Ron Howard’s latest drama is inspired by J.D. Vance’s book and life story. The film chronicles Vance’s teen to early adult life with his family […]
It’s amazing that it took a global pandemic for some movies that have been held for a year or two (or three) to finally be released. The latest is “The Informer”, a crime drama with a heck of a cast. It was filmed in 2017 and was originally supposed to open in Spring 2018. Well, […]
“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 […]
This latest Disney live-action remake of an animated classic is the new version of the first film I ever attended (while still in my mother’s womb). Director Niki Caro (“The Zookeeper’s Wife”) does NOT go the shot by shot route with “Mulan” (which made me roar with approval). However, this version doesn’t come close to […]
Even during a pandemic, when teens are doing online learning from home, there are still new high school “find yourself” films. Some are better than others, but I’m growing rather weary of this genre. What makes things even worse is when a script just doesn’t ring true. That’s the case for the majority of “Chemical […]
The first major, narrative film to debut on HBO Max is an acquisition. Sony’s “An American Pickle” was originally set for a theatrical release. However, the studio decided to hand the distribution reigns over to Warner Bros. for an in-home, streaming premiere. This marks the second time this Summer (following “Greyhound”, which went to AppleTV+) […]
For some, capturing the meat and heart & soul of a novel in film form can be a challenge. Writer Jack Thorne pulled it off (with Stephen Chbosky and Steve Conrad) for 2017’s “Wonder”. They took the best, most meaningful and effective parts of that 300-page book and incorporated them into a 113-minute movie. However, […]
“Palm Springs” was one of the darlings of this year’s Sundance Film Festival. And it set a record with the biggest sale price in the fest’s history. The rom-com was purchased by Hulu for more than $17.5 million. The streaming service is partnering with Neon to get the film out to the world. Unfortunately, huge […]