“Destroyer” director Karyn Kusama recently told Entertainment Weekly that she thinks actress Nicole Kidman just keeps getting better. It seems like Kidman’s been around for a long time (she did win an Oscar 15 years ago for “The Hours”). But the past two years have been a defining point in her career: another Oscar nomination […]
For the past six years, whenever I heard the title “Wreck-It Ralph”, I cringed. Those words would immediately trigger a flashback to November 2, 2012. That was the day I saw that film – that mean-spirited, flat, stuffed wall-to-wall, overly cute mess, jammed with pop culture references and characters – and little else. “Wreck-It Ralph” […]
The Coen Brothers were coined as “quirky” before “quirky” moviemaking became commonplace. For me their best early film (with apologizes to “Fargo” fans) is “Raising Arizona”. Some of their more recent efforts – “Burn After Reading”, “True Grit”, “Inside Llewyn Davis” and “Hail, Caesar!” – aren’t necessarily bad movies – but all of them fall […]
I’m a big fan of movies that allow an actor to step back into the role of an iconic character he/she played decades earlier. Recently “Creed” and “Blade Runner 2049” gave Sylvester Stallone and Harrison Ford the opportunities to reflect on Rocky Balboa and Rick Deckard, respectively, and provide new depth to those characters. Now, […]
This new documentary on the history and impact of game shows is hosted by Alex Trebek and features interviews with Pat & Vanna, Regis and the late Monty Hall. What is: “Game Changers”? If, like me, you’ve loved game shows your entire life, then “Game Changers” is a must-watch. This in-depth doc on one of […]
DC has produced numerous superhero movie flops over the years. “Teen Titans Go! To the Movies”, based on the popular Cartoon Network TV series, will make you both remember and forget that fact. This delightfully funny and incredibly smart parody is what Marvel’s “Deadpool” movies have tried – and failed – to be. The Teen […]
At the Regal Cinemas “Incredibles 2” showing I attended (and it’s likely playing everywhere), right before the film began, writer/director Brad Bird, and stars Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter and Samuel L. Jackson appeared on screen and thanked all the fans for waiting patiently for the past 14 years (it’s been 13 and a half, […]
“Early Man” is the fifth stop-motion feature from iconic British animation studio Aardman. It also marks the triumphant directorial return of Nick Park, the creator of Wallace & Gromit and Oscar-winner for the duo’s 2005 film, “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”. “Early Man” is packed with Aardman’s trademark comedic style. But with each of their […]
Scott Cooper continues to be one of the most fascinating, under-the-radar directors working today. Following his moving music drama “Crazy Heart” (which earned Jeff Bridges an Oscar), the gritty “Out of the Furnace” (with Christian Bale and Woody Harrelson) and “Black Mass” (starring Johnny Depp as gangster Whitey Bulger) Cooper now takes-on a genre that’s […]
For its time, 1982’s “Blade Runner” was mind-blowing, sophisticated science fiction at it’s best. Its long-awaited sequel, “Blade Runner 2049” is equally worthy of such praise. Of course Harrison Ford starred in the original, which came out around the same time as his early “Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars” films. In the past decade, Ford’s […]