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 […]
As a writer and director, Charlie Kaufman certainly plays by his own rules. He’s created such quirky, daring projects as “Being John Malkovich”, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Anomalisa”. His latest directorial effort is his first since venturing into adult stop-motion animation. “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” is based on the 2016 novel […]
What do you get when you combine “The Purge” and “Booksmart”? The new Hulu comedy “The Binge”. While this film is a mash-up of those other movies, it does have a somewhat unique premise: what if consuming alcohol and drugs was banned in the U.S. — except for one day a year? The cast of […]
In a crowded year for documentaries, “You Cannot Kill David Arquette” stands apart from the rest. And that’s because it may just be more mockumentary than anything else. The set-up is certainly true. In 2018, actor David Arquette, best known for the “Scream” films and his former marriage to Courtney Cox, was looking to make […]
It’s been five, long months since a new movie has been released exclusively in U.S. theaters. “Unhinged” is the first film since March 13th that can only be seen OUTSIDE of your home — at an indoor cinema or Drive-In. It’s not available on VOD or any streaming service. This thriller is a heck of […]
Even during a pandemic, when teens are doing online learning from home, there are still new high school “find yourself” films. Some are better than others, but I’m growing rather weary of this genre. What makes things even worse is when a script just doesn’t ring true. That’s the case for the majority of “Chemical […]
“End of Watch”, “Fury”, “Suicide Squad” and “Bright” director David Ayer steps away from big studio features for his latest, “The Tax Collector”. Ayer is also screenwriter, a fact he probably doesn’t want to admit out loud. Bobby Soto gives one of the weakest lead character performances of the year as David. He’s the son […]
Liam Neeson and real-life son Micheal Richardson play father and son Robert and Jack. Jack wants to sell his parents’ former home in Italy and use his proceeds to buy the London art gallery he’s currently running with his soon-to-be-ex-wife. So Jack and Dad (a famous artist) head to Tuscany to spruce-up the villa, which […]
Knock-Knock. Who’s There? That’s some of the mystery of the new thriller, “The Rental”. It’s the directorial debut of actor Dave Franco, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Unfortunately, there’s just not enough here to make it a worthy At Home rental. That’s because it adds nothing new to the genre, while leaving one important element […]
“The Old Guard” is adapted from a fairly new graphic novel series (first published in Feb. 2017). But it borrows from an old(er) concept. And because this is debuting on a certain streaming service, you could arguably call this, “NetfliX-Men”. The heroine at the center of “The Old Guard” is pretty familiar with kick-butt action […]