Monthly Archives: February 2018

In 1980, Arab terrorists took over the Iranian Embassy in London and threatened to kill them if their comrades weren’t freed from The Islamic Republic’s prisons. It was a situation fraught with tension and suspense, largely covered live on British … Continue reading →

The definitive portrait of Pablo Escobar — monstrous, murderous “Robin Hood” of the Cocaine Wars — just might be one that stars the husband and wife Oscar winners Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Throw in Peter Sarsgaard as the American … Continue reading →

This fall — November to be closer to the mark — “Wreck it Ralph 2: Ralph Wrecks the Internet” promises to be a little more adult, a little less slapsticky, a lot less sentimental. Cannot tell from this trailer if … Continue reading →

Isabelle Huppert enjoyed her decade as “French Screen Siren of the Moment” in the years between Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche. A formidable dramatic actress, the definitive “Madame Bovary,” she was Oscar-nominated for “Elle,” should have been nominated for “Bovary” … Continue reading →

    “The Vanishing of Sidney Hall” presents the viewer with a dilemma. Is Logan Lerman less convincing as yet another sensitive, smart high school romantic determined to be a writer, as that writer in his late 20s, in writerly … Continue reading →

Plump, dorky teenager has a dream, an impossible dream  — to fit in, be popular, be a cheerleader. Don’t help her. Don’t get in her way. It doesn’t matter.  Just “Don’t Talk to Irene.” Geena Davis is in this, and … Continue reading →

Yes, the young ladies, whom you’ll recognize as stars of “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” and “Split” and “The Witch,” are the focus of “Thoroughbreds,” rich and murderously bored pretty young things. Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy are … Continue reading →

Sometimes one can pinpoint that moment in a movie when you, as a viewer, checked out. “Nope, lost me.” “Mute,” the new Netflix film from director Duncan Jones (“Moon,” “Source Code,” “Warcraft: The Beginning”) is a random riot of such … Continue reading →

  There’s the seed of a promising premise at the heart of “The Lullaby,” a modern tale of Gothic horror from South Africa. It’s just a seed, though. An incoherent and obscure script, unrestrained hysteria in the performances and inept … Continue reading →

Hollywood’s assorted guilds are handing out their peer-recognized best work over the past year in film and TV. And today it was the Hair and Makeup Stylists who honored “The Crown” and “Feud” and “American Horror Story” and “Big Little … Continue reading →