Category: Monday Morning Movie Reviewer

Better than you’d think given the so-so reviews. I think critics wanted to make a point of saying it’s not as good as “Inside Out” and that’s technically true, but it’s closer than they think it is. What Works: Last year, there were no Pixar movies at all, and the three before that were “Monsters University,”…

Three very different but critically acclaimed quasi-indies… The End of the Tour…A finely-observed film that received near-universal critical acclaim, but is a somewhat disappointing experience. It’s based on an interview-profile a Rolling Stone reporter (Jesse Eisenberg) did on writer David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel) around the time “Infinite Jest” was coming out and catapulting him…

Two different documentaries that will surely make you glad to be in America or at least a country not going through violent power-grabs… Winter on Fire…By far the more dramatically propulsive of the two, but–strangely–the less interesting one to me personally only because I’m not as interested in the Ukraine as I am Afghanistan. This…

Sure, all of these are relatively recent movies still in theaters that probably deserve their own reviews, but we’re at the end-of-the-year crunch, so… In the Heart of the Sea…I’m a little bit biased since I love this type of movie. You’ve got the ocean; you’ve got an old-timey setting; you’ve got a man vs….

Two cynical political dramas that center on aspiring senators trying not to be undone by sex scandals… Zipper…Patrick Wilson plays a state prosecutor running for senator who develops a love for prostitutes. The movie wants to have something interesting to say about why we judge politicians for their sex lives–and that would have been an interesting movie–but…

Sometimes a film falls through the cracks, and so I lump them into the most unlikely film grouping in recent memory… Cinderella…A conventional take on “Cinderella” that people call “fresh” because it resists the urge to make Cinderella into some kind of vampire slayer or something. And I’ll admit that I’m tired of the trend…

Spike Lee is back. This film–based on the classic Greek story of Lysistrata–is about a group of Chicago women who become fed-up with the violence and organize a sex strike to force their men into peace. It’s a provocative idea clearly designed to raise questions, and Lee proves yet again that he’s a master of…

Three dumb 2015 comedies that need perfunctory “reviews.” Although I have to say, some aren’t entirely unenjoyable… The Ridiculous Six…Adam Sandler finally realizes his movies are more “straight to Netflix” than “get me to a theater” and this is the first of several movies he’ll release straight-to-Netflix. Out of the three comedies, this is the…

A movie I was looking forward to more than I enjoyed once I finally saw it… What Works: All the elements for a great Bond movie are there: beautiful women (Monica Bellucci made headlines for being the oldest “Bond Girl” and Stephanie Sigman is the first Mexican one), an actor that’s born to play a Bond…

Finally, the long-awaited sequel you’ve been waiting for…a new Rocky movie! Oh wait, you thought I would review Star Wars huh? Anyway, this is the definition of a movie that turned out to be a lot better than I thought it would be, and I can see why critics were so surprised. What Works: The performances…

An appealingly old-fashioned movie that is unrushed, well-observed, and a little bit boring. What Works: It’s about an Irish girl in the 1950s (Saorise Ronan) who emigrates to Brooklyn, and really the immigrant experience in general as she experiences home-sickness, the joys of first love, and what it’s like to visit home again. [She believes she’ll…

“Room” is almost as good as you’ve been hearing and is an easy contender for any “Best” lists. The plot may turn people off, but I believe if they give it a chance, they’ll have one of the most moving experiences of any film this year. If you don’t know what it’s about, I would…