December 2, 2019 “The Irishman” (***1/2 out of four) was a majestic criminal underworld epic about the title character Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) and his involvement with the mob (Harvey Keitel, Joe Pesci, and others) and how this culminated in his relationship and possible killing of Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). Undeniably long at three-and-a-half hours but masterfully told and directed by Martin Scorcese in a crackling return to form to his mob-underworld roots and brought to life by a first-rate cast. Amazing C.G.I. work impressively makes all of the principal actors look decades younger! Pacino, in particular, stands out in his most forceful performance in years as Hoffa. Kudos also to long-time Scorcese editor Thelma Schoonmaker and to various homages that Scorcese throws in to his previous classics (“Good Fellas” in particular). Continue reading →
December 2, 2019 “Jay And Silent Bob Reboot” (*1/2 out of four) was a generally brainless reboot of the 2001 cult movie “Jay And Silent Bob Strikes Back”; this time around, the two stoner heroes (Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes) venture back to Hollywood to prevent a reboot of the “Bluntman And Chronic” movie from being made. Abjectly stupid movie is only for those who thought the original “Jay And Silent Bob” was robbed at Oscar time. Movies like these make you wonder whether writer/director Smith will ever write a movie with intelligent characters or dialogue again. Matt Damon, Rosario Dawson, Method Man, and Redman and many others show up in unfunny cameos. Continue reading →
December 2, 2019 “A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood” (** out of four) was a rather glum melodrama focusing on the relationship between children’s television star Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) and journalist Tom Junod (Matthew Rhys) and how their interaction helps the journalist’s relationship with his dying father (Chris Cooper) and his distant wife (Susan Kelechi Watson). Hanks is simply perfect casting as Rogers and does a fabulous job impersonating Rogers’ voice and mannerisms. Unfortunately, the majority of the film focuses on Junod and his various relationships and they’re pretty boring after a while. What a shame. A great biography of Rogers still should be made. Continue reading →
December 1, 2019 “Dark Waters” (*** out of four) was an absorbing and compelling story about a high-rolling corporate defense attorney (Mark Ruffalo) who has a crisis of conscience and decides to take on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company whose pollution affected thousands and he gradually becomes obsessed with taking them to court and restoring justice, at any personal and professional cost to his career. Sharply made and directed by Todd Haynes, in a story that bears a lot of similarity to both “A Civil Action” and “Michael Clayton.” Ruffalo is adequate in the lead but is surrounded by a first-rate supporting cast including Bill Pullman, Tim Robbins, and Anne Hathaway. Continue reading →
December 1, 2019 “The Goldfinch” (** out of four) was a heavy-handed adaptation of Donna Tartt’s 2013 best-selling novel about a young man (Ansel Egort) whose mother is killed in a bombing at The Metropolitan Museum Of Art and he escapes only with a valuable painting called The Goldfinch which he leans on emotionally and financially through adolescence. Well-directed by John Crowley and features a few interesting dramatic scenes but overlong, weird, and never terribly moving. Luke Wilson and Nicole Kidman stand-out in minor supporting roles. Continue reading →
November 29, 2019 “Countdown” (** out of four) was a hokey supernatural thriller about an empathetic nurse (Elizabeth Lail) who stumbles onto an app that is downloadable onto your phone which tells you when you will die and she soon finds she has only three days to live and has to race against the clock to save her life and destroy the app for good. Not bad, and directed with some style by writer/director Justin Dec, but not scary or clever enough to give it any real distinction. After a while, you’ll likely be counting down to film’s end. Continue reading →
November 28, 2019 “Knives Out” (*1/2 out of four) was a limp psychodrama/comedy about a determined detective (Daniel Craig) investigating the death of a millionaire businessman (Christopher Plummer) and finds that virtually everyone in his family (Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, and others) are suspects. First-rate cast tries to inject this with as much style as possible but it’s a fizzle from start to finish and liberally rips off some of the plot (and plot twists) of “Clue”. A Southern accent simply does not work for Craig. Continue reading →
November 28, 2019 “Pickaxe” (*1/2 out of four) was an abysmal horror potboiler set in 1982 about a brutal mass murderer thought to be dead and buried but is soon awoken by a group of partying teenagers (Cory Ahre, Kerry Beyer, Drew Brown, and others) and he rises from the grave with (you guessed it) a pickaxe to wreak more havoc and many more killings. Less a nostalgia piece for 1982 than a really bad movie from 1982 but this would have been terrible no matter what year it was released. Brutal acting provides the only real scares here. Continue reading →
November 28, 2019 “Art Of The Dead” (*1/2 out of four) was a pretty unbearable horror thriller about a collection of paintings from an artistic maniac (Richard Grieco) which unleash havoc on an unsuspecting family (Jessica Morris, Tara Reid, and others) in the form of the seven deadly sins. Starts out creepy and stylish but then goes downhill real fast and goes nowhere. One scene of a guy blowing himself up with water provides film’s only real jolt. It’s movies like these that caused both Grieco and Reid’s careers to soon go dead. Continue reading →
November 25, 2019 “Frozen 2” (*** out of four) was a lush sequel to the 2013 animated smash about the continuing adventures of Anna, Elsa, Kristaff, Olaf, and Sven (voices of Kristina Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad) as they leave Arendelle to travel to an enchanted land to discover the origins of Elsa’s powers in order to save their kingdom. Beautifully designed and realized and features some nice songs from Robert Lopez and Kristin Anderson-Lopez. Fans of the original and kids will definitely love this. Continue reading →
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