“Wrath of Man” is director Guy Ritchie’s latest crime thriller. It’s also his fourth collaboration with action superstar Jason Statham. They last teamed-up on 2005’s “Revolver”. The two actually began their film careers together — 23-year ago: Ritchie a rookie director and Statham making his big-screen debut in the British crime comedy “Lock, Stock and […]
“Princess of the Row” is directed and co-written by Van Maximilian Carlson. It’s his first narrative feature in 17 years. And it’s one of those films that has its heart in the right place, but… Taylor Buck plays 12-year-old Alicia. Her dad Bo (Edi Gathegi) suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving in the military […]
You might think October is a little early to be debuting a “holiday season” rom-com. But Netflix’s “Holidate” doesn’t just take place over Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. It covers most of the major holidays throughout the year. The hook: two Chicago millennials — Sloane (Emma Roberts) and Jackson (Luke Bracey) — meet and decide […]
You know what we could all use right now during these crazy times? A Liam Neeson action/thriller! Unfortunately, “Honest Thief” is low in both the action and thrills departments — and is a middle of the road entry in his specialty genre. Neeson plays Tom Carter. He admits early on that he’s robbed a dozen […]
“The Boys in the Band” was a groundbreaking 1968 stage play. Two years later, it became a film from “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist” director William Friedkin. In 2018, the play arrived on Broadway with an all-star cast, including Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer and Andrew Rannells. Now comes a new film version […]
Director Roger Michell has tackled a variety of topics in his films: movie star romance (“Notting Hill”), TV news (“Morning Glory”), FDR’s fascination with hot dogs (“Hyde Park on Hudson”) and now… assisted suicide. “Blackbird” is a remake of the 2014 Danish film “Silent Heart”. Susan Sarandon plays Lily. She’s a wife and mother for […]
2018’s “BlacKkKlansman” re-ignited Spike Lee’s career. It also earned him his first competitive Oscar (for co-writing the screenplay). There’s always a lot of on the line with the follow-up to a critically lauded film. Unfortunately, Lee’s newest (and first as director for Netflix) “Da 5 Bloods” isn’t nearly as focused or impactful. The best thing […]
Indie drama “End of Sentence” is one 2020’s most frustrating movies. And it has nothing to do with the central performances of lead actors John Hawkes and Logan Lerman. They play father and son Frank and Sean Fogle. The mild-mannered Frank is outside the gates to greet the high-strung Sean when he’s released from an […]
Actress Greta Gerwig broke through as a writer/director with 2017’s “Lady Bird” – an original, funny, grounded, growing-up dramedy. With her follow-up, Gerwig provides a fresh look at an all-time classic. However, her attempt at modernizing “Little Women” may have been a little too ambitious. To shake-up a story that’s already been told time numerous […]
On the surface, the role of Howard Ratner in “Uncut Gems” may seem like a major departure for Adam Sandler. The man behind such goofy comedies as “Happy Gilmore”, “Grown Ups” and… “Jack and Jill” (!)… is in a dark, twisted, high-stakes A24 indie. But in a lot of ways, “Uncut Gems” is not dissimilar […]