As I’ve said and written so many times – “Cars” is my favorite Pixar movie. And I remain one of the few who believe the 2011 International Racing Tour spy caper sequel “Cars 2” is a very entertaining film. Now comes “Cars 3”, which is actually the “Cars 2” everyone thought they wanted. This movie […]
I was a big fan of the original “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy: 2003’s “The Curse of the Black Pearl” (which earned Johnny Depp a Best Actor SAG Award), 2006’s “Dead Man’s Chest” (one of Disney’s highest-grossing movies ever) and 2007’s “At World’s End” (which didn’t feature Depp on screen for the entire first half-hour). Some thought […]
“Everything, Everything” is the latest YA romance novel to be turned into a movie. The book, written by Nicola Yoon, was published less than two years ago, so this was definitely a quick turnaround. Last year’s “Me Before You”, based on a novel intended for a similar audience, blew me away – with a commanding […]
“Casting JonBenet” is completely different from any of the TV documentaries, “48 Hours” or “Dateline” episodes that have been made dissecting the case of murdered 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey over the past 20 years. 32-year-old Australian director Kitty Green, who admits she’s been fascinated with the Ramsey story since it unfolded in ’96, sought to examine the events […]
“Gravity”, “Interstellar”, “The Martian” and “Passengers” are just SOME of the action movies that have taken us into Outer Space over the past 5 years. The latest is “Life” – a horror/thriller that was originally supposed to open Memorial Day weekend, but now gets to put a jolt in Spring. Going in, I wondered why […]
It’s The End of an Era. 17 years ago, “X-Men” launched the superhero movie genre as we know it. And now, its breakout star Hugh Jackman is saying goodbye to his iconic Wolverine character in “Logan”. It’s Jackman’s third Wolverine spinoff movie, and a commendable swan song. From the opening scene, it’s obvious that “Logan” is […]
Nearly 10 years after Sony Pictures Animation released their Oscar-nominated penguin surfing mockumentary “Surf’s Up”, the studio has returned to Pen Gu Island – and brought some of the biggest WWE superstars with them – for the entertaining direct-to-DVD sequel, “Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania”. The opening few minutes recap the climactic events of the original […]
Following 2013’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “99 Homes”, and “The Big Short” in 2015, comes this year’s rags to riches finance movie. Set in the 80s, “Gold” is similarly inspired by a true story. Matthew McConaughey stars as Kenny Wells – the son of a very successful precious metals broker, who inherits the family […]
Less than three months after the release of their collaboration on the disaster aboard the “Deepwater Horizon”, director Peter Berg and star Mark Wahlberg’s depiction of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing – “Patriots Day” – is set to hit theaters. While not the emotional gut-wrencher I was expecting, this is a quality manhunt/investigation drama that […]
In an August Entertainment Weekly article previewing “Collateral Beauty”, star Will Smith, coming-off his #OscarsSoWhite Best Actor nomination snub for his electrifying performance in “Concussion”, is quoted as saying his latest film is “delicately framed in a way that’s going to be tough to promote.” And he was right. The first trailer, released in September, avoids some […]