A coach gets into trouble, suffers a career setback, and has to redeem himself — both professionally and personally — in an unusual environment. It’s a sports movie cliche as old as the peach basket… and the exact set-up of the latest effort in the genre: “Champions”. Woody Harrelson plays Coach Marcus. He an assistant […]
When “Searching” was released in 2018, it made a little noise at the box office. Some moviegoers were intrigued by its unique, but faulty, point of view. A dad (John Cho) uses his missing daughter’s computer webcam to try and track her down. Nearly the entire movie takes place on this screen, with various windows […]
Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” is inspired by the iconic director’s childhood and early love of seeing and making movies. It’s a drama filled with conflict, pain, and characters feeling sad and depressed. Ironically, it’s also one of the lightest dramas I’ve ever seen in recent years. Maybe that’s because the film is replete with corny, […]
When I first heard the premise of “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”, I thought it was clever, but feared a one note joke. Nicolas Cage plays a slightly eccentric version of himself, at a crossroads in his career and life. Aside from voice work in the two “Croods” installments and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, […]
“Being the Ricardos” is writer/director Aaron Sorkin’s dramatization of one week of production of the iconic TV series, “I Love Lucy”. The episode depicted is “Ethel and Fred Fight”, named on scripts as Season 2 Episode 4. (In reality, “Fred and Ethel Fight” was the 22nd episode of Season 1, filmed in early 1952. While […]
Even with one of the most star-studded casts of the year, director Guillermo Del Toro’s follow-up to his Oscar winning “The Shape of Water” isn’t bound for a similar awards season fate. “Nightmare Alley” plays out as three completely different movies, each running about 45 minutes. So I’m going to do something rare: review and […]
“The Card Counter” is writer/director Paul Schrader’s first film since 2018’s “First Reformed”. That movie earned Schrader the first Oscar nomination of his decades-long, critically-acclaimed career. It had a unique, polarizing story and featured a top-notch performance from Ethan Hawke. The strength of “The Card Counter” is also the central character, more specifically the idea […]
Within the horror movie genre sits a gated community of films about haunted houses inhabited by troubled owners — past and present. “The Night House” attempts to rise to the top floor of this group. Unfortunately, the most mysterious element of director David Bruckner’s creation is its title. The meaning isn’t revealed until the final […]
“Superintelligence” is Melissa McCarthy’s fourth film collaboration with director/husband Ben Falcone. Previous efforts “Tammy”, “The Boss” and “Life of the Party” all underperformed in the humor department. This latest venture fits right in line. “Superintelligence” was shot more than two years ago. It initially had a Christmas 2019 theatrical release target. But last Fall, McCarthy […]
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 […]