Greta Gerwig pulls off a stunning achievement with “Ladybird,” which at first looks like a strong coming-of-age story, but might actually be the first epic about millennial life…[Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood” might actually have this title, but Ellar Coltrane is only 23 years old and may actually be too young to be considered a millennial.] What…
Category: Monday Morning Movie Reviewer
Movie Reviews of “Mudbound” and “Wheelman”
A pair of Netflix original films that are worth a watch in one case and one of the year’s best in another… Mudbound…Most films about racial tension in the Southeast take place during the 1860’s Civil War period and the slavery days right before it or the daily insults of segregation during the Civil Rights-era 1960’s (every…
Movie Reviews: “Daddy’s Home 2” Vs. “Bad Moms Christmas”
Which unnecessary sequel to a broad hit comedy shoehorned into the holiday season will win out? Wellllllllll, the similarities between them are uncanny (they have basically the same ending, and even the promise of a Vegas-set spin-off), and it’ll largely be a matter of taste in which one you like better. “Bad Moms Christmas” is…
“LBJ,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Victoria & Abdul,” “Only the Brave,” “Thank You For Your Service”
Five films currently in theaters, some of which I actually really liked… LBJ…Has there been a more underrated President than Lyndon Baines Johnson? One of my Top 5 favorite Presidents has had his legacy universally tarnished by Vietnam—a war that baby boomers must think is still going on judging by how their response to Trump…
Reviews: “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Foreigner,” “Geostorm,” “Suburbicon,” “Mountain Between Us”
All films currently in theaters for a nice change of pace, but not ones sufficiently exciting enough to give their own reviews to… Thor: Ragnarok…Is Marvel paying film critics? It’s a persistent theory among both DC fans and adults with good taste who wonder why Marvel product keeps getting rubber-stamped? How does a film like…
“Transformers: Whatever,” “The Wall,” “Despicable Me 3,” “Dean,” “Lowriders”
A grab bag of Summer 2017’s also-rans, but don’t worry folks, later today they’ll be no less than 10 other movie reviews of films currently in theaters… Transformers: The Last Knight…Have you ever wished that a “Transformers” film could be longer, make less sense, feature Anthony Hopkins in one of his most pitifully slumming it…
Movie Review: Blade Runner 2049
An experience that really should be seen on a big-screen, even if it appears a lot of audiences are taking a pass on doing so… What Works: I was pretty much dead-against a sequel to “Blade Runner” (the director’s cut of which has one of the most debated endings of all time), and even if “Arrival”…
Movie Review: The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
One of Netflix’s starriest original film outings yet with Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Emma Thompson, and Dustin Hoffman all taking part in Noah Baumbach’s story of an aging sculptor and his grown children, played by Elizabeth Marvel, Sandler, and Stiller (who has a different mother than Sandler’s character, and there’s some resentment over the difference…
Movie Review: “American Made”
Based-on-a-true-story this lively drama almost feels like a comedy for the first three-quarters or so as Barry Seal invites you into his “Can you believe I’m getting away with this?” world. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if Tom Cruise was nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy at the Golden Globes. What Works: The supporting cast…
Movie Review: The Brilliant and Polarizing “mother!”
This is the rare “Love it or hate it” debate where I absolutely love what’s being debated. Congratulations go to Jennifer Lawrence for starring in one of the boldest, most alienating films an A-list actress at the peak of her career ever has starred in. And director Darren Aronofsky has outdone his big-budget “Noah” for…
NEW Movies: “Kingsman 2” and “The Snowman”
Two junk thrillers that are still in theaters, but not quite good enough to get their own reviews… Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle…Although the film is financially successul (sort-of), I can’t imagine people are really that thrilled when they walk out of the theater. This is a disappointment to the original “Kingsman” film in almost every way…
Reviews: Documentaries on Spielberg, Joan Didion, “Tickling Giants,” and Lady Gaga
There’s something inherently fascinating about documentaries about artists, and what a collection we have to choose from with new docs on the world’s most famous living film director, a legendary 60’s writer, a mega-successful pop star, and an Egyptian political satirist trying his best to poke fun at encroaching fascism… Spielberg…If you go outside Hollywood…
Reviews: “Chuck,” “Wakefield,” “Beatriz at Dinner,” “Megan Leavey,” “Before I Fall”
If that last quintet of big-budget turkeys left a bad taste in your mouth, check out these four prestige dramas named after their main characters, and a young adult fantasy lumped in mostly because I didn’t have another place to put it… Chuck…I count myself as a fan of the “Rocky” franchise like pretty much…