In January 2017, I wrote a piece on actor Dennis Quaid, whose latest film “A Dog’s Purpose” was set to open. Here we are, a little more than two years later, and that K-9 adventure is getting a sequel… with Quaid back. He and Josh Gad reprise their roles in “A Dog’s Journey”, out May […]
The Liam Neeson action/thriller genre began 10 years ago with “Taken”. Over the past decade, he’s starred in a dozen or so movies in which his character seeks revenge over something that has really ticked him off. In promoting “Cold Pursuit”, the latest entry in this unique franchise (that follows the exact same plot – […]
These are my 19 Most Anticipated Movies of 2019: “LATE NIGHT” – Jan. 25 (Sundance Film Festival Premiere) Emma Thompson plays a late night talk show host, and Mindy Kaling is her head writer. Kaling also wrote the screenplay. I love movies about TV. “COLD PURSUIT” – Feb. 8 Another Liam Neeson action movie. Enough […]
“Destroyer” director Karyn Kusama recently told Entertainment Weekly that she thinks actress Nicole Kidman just keeps getting better. It seems like Kidman’s been around for a long time (she did win an Oscar 15 years ago for “The Hours”). But the past two years have been a defining point in her career: another Oscar nomination […]
The Coen Brothers were coined as “quirky” before “quirky” moviemaking became commonplace. For me their best early film (with apologizes to “Fargo” fans) is “Raising Arizona”. Some of their more recent efforts – “Burn After Reading”, “True Grit”, “Inside Llewyn Davis” and “Hail, Caesar!” – aren’t necessarily bad movies – but all of them fall […]
From Academy Award®-winning director Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”) and co-writer and bestselling author Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”) comes a blistering, modern-day thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption. “Widows” is the story of four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands’ criminal activities. […]
Director Steve McQueen could’ve chosen any project for his follow-up to 2013’s Oscar-winning Best Picture “12 Years a Slave”. An all-star, action, crime, revenge, heist, political drama wouldn’t have been my first guess. McQueen is the director and co-writer (with “Gone Girl”’s Gillian Flynn) of “Widows”. The story, based on an 80s British TV series, […]
Last weekend’s box office saw new releases “Night School”($27 million) and “Smallfoot” ($23 million) lead the way. However, their box office openings were underwhelming. Using Box Office Mojo as a guide, I ask this question about 14 other recent films: Why didn’t these movies make more money? “The A-Team” (2010) You could argue that this […]
2008’s “Taken” starred Liam Neeson as a father dealing with the “worst nightmare involving your child”. That film and subsequent franchise re-vamped Neeson’s career, elevating him to iconic action movie star status. Now, “Taken” director Pierre Morel presents the mother’s perspective of an even worse situation in “Peppermint”. The revenge thriller features the return to the […]
“Mile 22”, opening next Friday August 17th, is the fourth collaboration for actor Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg. The pair previously made 2013’s Oscar-nominated true story action drama “Lone Survivor” and a duo of 2016 efforts – “Deepwater Horizon”, about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and “Patriots Day”, about the Boston Marathon Bombing. […]