As if making a really good movie isn’t hard enough, some films, including this one, place obstacles in their own way.  In this case, it’s Edee, the main character, whose decisions are so poorly conceived and executed that she nearly […]

Continue reading »

Some movies, like this one, are much harder to watch than others.  The Mauritanian is not a commercial film, despite its trio of stars; it is a deeply serious story which questions American attitudes following the 9/11 attacks.  It’s my guess […]

Continue reading »

Serial killer stories have become pretty routine since the 1980s; instead of the certifiably crazy boogeymen who terrorized women throughout earlier film history more modern filmmakers have increasingly turned to regular Joe types, stylistic murderers with intricate plans, often known […]

Continue reading »

As much as I see and enjoy movies, sometimes things pass me by with little fanfare.  I recall the 2000 release of Walt Disney Studio’s The Emperor’s New Groove, but it held no interest for me at all at that time.  Now, […]

Continue reading »

When someone says “Movies can be, or should be, more than just entertainment,” this is the type of movie to which they are referring.  Promising Young Woman is about all kinds of issues important to our society today; the fact […]

Continue reading »

Our annual January / February visit with Liam Neeson on the big screen hasn’t always resulted in fabulous films, but The Marksman is pretty good.  It’s certainly a step above Cold Pursuit, Taken 3 or Non-Stop (I missed The Silence and The Commuter).  It’s the […]

Continue reading »

I feel obliged to confess that one of my weaknesses in movie criticism is an aversion to certain lead characters who I feel are so flawed that they don’t deserve to be in movies.  Now I know that is nonsense; […]

Continue reading »

I’m still making the effort to catch up with 2020 releases that I missed the first time around.  One of those is the Sony / Blumhouse offering Fantasy Island.  This is a horror-oriented remake of the old romantic TV series (1977-), […]

Continue reading »

Writer-director Paul Greengrass and star Tom Hanks have excellent track records for quality filmmaking, so it is really no surprise that their newest film, News of the World, is very good. No, the big surprise is in the form of […]

Continue reading »

I love Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, and it is nice to see movies that feature females that are strong and smart as well as sexy (Gadot’s Diana is certainly all three). That’s why it’s such a […]

Continue reading »