Movie Views
Musings about movies.
Lawrence is Raw, Revelatory in Die My Love
3 ½ stars Just as they have you sit through 30 minutes of commercials and trailers before the scheduled start of a movie, theaters showing
Blue Moon is a Bust
2 stars Ethan Hawke in a combover? Say no more. Although working for decades as an entertainment journalist has allowed me to see dozens of
Tap Taps Out
1 star Wow. I thought the band was old until I heard the jokes. In 1984, director Rob Reiner joined forces with comedians Christopher Guest,
Women of the West Rule East of Wall
1 ½ stars According to the press notes for East of Wall, writer/director Kate Beecroft spent three years living with the characters of her movie,
He Shoots! He Scores!
3 ½ stars Sheer perfection. I can’t say I’ve been breathlessly waiting these past 29 years for Adam Sandler to stop with all the indie
More Than Jaws Turns 50
Like thousands of other fans, I made sure to watch Jaws as the film celebrated its 50th anniversary in the public consciousness. More than 67
Lots of Gore, But Little More
1 star The reactions were opposites: on one side of the theater, people groaned in pain and disgust at the gory events unfolding on the
Captivation Clown Carnage
3 ½ stars I’ve never been coulrophobic; just the opposite. While those suffering from that particular phobia may experience an intense and persistent fear whenever
Lame Horses
1 star The good news is that you get not one but two movies when you go see On Swift Horses. You get the story
Politics, Power and Catherine Deneuve
3 stars I wish I were French. Or at least steeped in enough French history, especially its political history of the 1990s, to rewatch Léa
Penguin “Dramedy” Never Takes Flight
1 star Steve Coogan deserves better. So does the penguin. Being sold as a “poignant dramedy”, whatever that means, The Penguin Lessons tells the story
Woeful Wolf Man
0 stars I wish I’d seen Wolf Man in the theater. It’s just not as much fun laughing at a film this cheesy when you’re
Zombies Advance in Operation Undead
4 stars There’s a reason the zombie genre has stayed so strong over the years. Much like the undead that stars in such films, the
Silent Zone Stumbles
1 star A deadly virus is released in the world, decimating the population and turning the reincarnated into mindless, flesh-eating zombies. A few misfit survivors
Surrealism on Screen
Imagine you are in a museum. The Persistence of Memory, painted by the surrealist Salvador Dali, is on the wall before you. You look and
Eye for an Eye 2: Blind Vengeance
3 stars The blind swordsman is an iconic hero of martial arts films and television, most memorably the character Zatoichi, played by actors ranging from
Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force
4 stars It’s always been my feeling that sequels should be able to stand on their own and that people should be able to enjoy
History Comes to Life in Harbin
3 stars Movies based on historical events can be a mixed bag; the best can inspire people to act, while the worst are so determined