“The Equalizer 2” is the first sequel of Denzel Washington’s career. He told Jimmy Kimmel that the script was good enough for the film to be made (unlike “Inside Man 2”, which he said didn’t make any sense at all). Washington re-teams with Antoine Fuqua, who also directed the original. These two have become one […]
Gus Van Sant’s “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot” is an off-beat biopic of John Callahan, the lifelong alcoholic who was confined to a wheelchair following a drunken car crash and then become a popular, edgy cartoonist for the New Yorker and other publications. Joaquin Phoenix, one of the most versatile actors of our […]
It’s rare for a sequel to be greenlit when the original only earned $47 million in the U.S. But “Sicario: Day of the Soldado”, the follow-up to 2015’s action/thriller “Sicario”, is not your typical sequel – mainly due to a shuffle in its lineup. Emily Blunt, who starred in the original, is not in “Soldado”. […]
Here’s a piece of advice for anyone looking to edit trailers as a profession: Don’t begin a trailer (that everyone will have seen in theaters and online for several months) with the climactic moment in the movie. That egregious mistake was made with “Tag”. And it’s far from the only one. “Tag” stars Jon Hamm, […]
Lately the title “Horror Movie” has been awarded to films that just don’t deserve it. “Get Out” has a few gory moments in its final half hour, but it’s a suspense thriller. “mother!” includes its share of blood, but not the slicing and dicing found in traditional horror films. And neither provide the scares required […]
Comedian/singer-songwriter Bo Burnham has written and directed his first feature film. It’s not what you’d expect. “Eighth Grade” is a sophisticated, sentimental and surprisingly serious coming-of-age story that focusses on the final week of eighth grade for a quiet, socially awkward 13-year old. Elsie Fisher (the voice of Agnes in the first two “Despicable Me” […]
The heist movie is a quintessential part of American cinema. “American Animals” puts a new spin on the genre as part-documentary/part-dramatization of a 2004 robbery involving four Kentucky college students who attempted to steal a group of priceless books from the Transylvania University library. The film starts rather slowly, with a drawn-out and not exceptionally […]
It seems longer than two years and three months since the original “Deadpool”. Or maybe it’s just me, since I’ve been doing everything possible to forget that film. The biggest question I had going into “Deadpool 2” was would this just be more of the same, or would a new director steer this character and […]
When I talked with Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody for 2015’s “Ricki and the Flash”, I asked her what she had in mind for her next script. She said she had nothing – and was looking for some inspiration. Well, they say “Write what you know”. My interview with her took place shortly before Cody gave […]
If you’re a fan of the 2001 cult stoner comedy “Super Troopers”, about a group of fun-loving Vermont highway patrol officers who constantly play pranks on each other and the public (often while on the job), then you won’t be disappointed with this long-awaited sequel, which brings back the entire cast and delivers plenty of […]