Another film that did not need to be remade, re-booted or re-anythinged is Ghostbusters. The surprisingly massive hit from 1984 has aged pretty well thanks to its wit, its goofy charm, Sigourney Weaver’s spectacular legs and a terrific use of popular […]
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Ben-Hur (2016) ☆ ☆
This is a film that has already been made three times — in 1907 and 1926, silent spectacles that I have yet to see, and the famous 1959 version that won eleven Academy Awards, and which I feel is a […]
Continue reading »Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) ☆ ☆ ☆
The formula for this movie is seemingly not a promising one. A drama about a woman whose singing is decidedly flat, and who is enabled to give concerts only because she is rich, seems to have the deck stacked against […]
Continue reading »Finding Dory (2016) ☆ ☆ ☆
While Finding Dory is not the wonderful film that Finding Nemo was some thirteen years ago, it is a thoughtful follow-up which accentuates many of the same themes that its predecessor did. It’s all about finding one’s home, finding one’s way in […]
Continue reading »Suicide Squad (2016) ☆ 1/2
Superhero movies used to be about people (Batman), or mutants (X-Men), or aliens (Superman) with extraordinary powers who try to do some good in the world. But now we’re in an anti-superhero culture. Formerly all-American superheroes now beat up on […]
Continue reading »Café Society (2016) ☆ ☆ ☆
Writer-director Woody Allen just keeps chugging along like the Little Filmmaker Who Could, churning out an average of one film per year since 1969, beginning with the hilarious Take the Money and Run. His style has changed over the years; slapstick […]
Continue reading »Bad Moms (2016) ☆ 1/2
Yes, when political correctness becomes hypocrisy or lunacy, it should be ridiculed. Bad Moms lampoons the idea that a woman who chooses to work is then, by necessity, a poor mother. But think about that for a moment. Working mothers […]
Continue reading »Star Trek Beyond (2016) ☆ ☆ ☆
The newest Star Trek movie is pretty good, I think, ranking right along with the first two of the new series. It has several merits of note, which begin with characterization; more on that later. Its story is, thankfully, not recycled […]
Continue reading »Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) ☆ 1/2
Well, Mike and Dave need much more than wedding dates. Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron) are brothers whose business it is to sell liquor and wreck family events. In this sweet but crude comedy Mike and Dave are […]
Continue reading »The Purge: Election Year (2016) ☆ ☆ ☆
This may surprise some readers but I think this movie is pretty darn good. I gave the first Purge just two stars back in 2013, and I must have missed the second one, The Purge: Anarchy, in 2014, but I do appreciate […]
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