Ruth Bader Ginsburg has emerged as an unlikely cultural icon, and this movie is intended to depict the origins of her progressive appeal. But it is also designed to contribute to her legacy, and this close alignment makes me a […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
Mary Poppins Returns (2018) ☆ ☆ 1/2
Is it wise to revisit or update a genuine cinematic classic? Hollywood certainly thinks so, because the studios keep remaking old classics and are now creating sequels decades after the originals. Now the Disney company has made a belated sequel […]
Continue reading »If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) ☆ ☆
Only a couple of acclaimed novelist James Baldwin’s novels have been transformed into movies, but writer-director Barry Jenkins has tackled the task, with mixed results. The story, involving a young urban black couple whose dreams of a good life are […]
Continue reading »Green Book (2018) ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
For my money the best film of 2018 is Green Book, and I was delighted (and, I must admit, surprised), when it finished strong at the Academy Awards. It has been controversial for its (questionably) relative truthfulness and because the source […]
Continue reading »Mary Queen of Scots (2018) ☆ ☆ 1/2
My unintended sabbatical from reviewing is now over; I’ve got ten or twelve recent releases reviews to present, and shall do so as quickly as possible. The first is an historical drama that was poised to be an Oscar contender, […]
Continue reading »The Killer Clown Meets the Candy Man (2019) ☆ ☆
Independent horror films push boundaries of taste and excess, which is certainly true of this movie. The “Killer Clown” of the title is none other than John Wayne Gacy / Pogo (Jeremy Woodworth), while the “Candy Man” is Dean Corll […]
Continue reading »The Mule (2018) ☆ ☆ ☆
Sometimes, often based on previews, a movie does not, or cannot, live up to the expectations it creates. For me, this happens with The Mule, Clint Eastwood’s drama about an elderly man who becomes a drug runner for a Mexican cartel. […]
Continue reading »Welcome to Marwen (2018) ☆ ☆ ☆
Truth tends to clutter fiction in weird ways, as evidenced by this intriguing drama. Welcome to Marwen chronicles one man’s journey to recover from a traumatic brain injury. Its preview reveals this clearly and promises an inspiring, imaginative narrative as […]
Continue reading »Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) ☆ ☆ ☆
Six years after Wreck-it Ralph first appeared, Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (voice of Sarah Silverman) are forced to make the jump from their games at Litwak’s Arcade to the spectacular hub of the internet itself to find […]
Continue reading »The Grinch (2018) ☆ ☆
Call me grinchly if you want, but I’ve never been a big fan of the green guy. Dr. Seuss just isn’t my thing, and I’ve felt that way ever since the 1966 TV special. The rhyming seems forced, the made-up […]
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