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‘Juror #2’ Proves Clint Eastwood Is Still a Master of Suspense—and Hollywood
Politically, we might be on different planets, but my admiration and respect for director Clint Eastwood is boundless when it comes to movies. Now in his 90s, the iconic action star turned filmmaker...
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‘Here’ Goes Nowhere: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and the AI Gimmick that Fell Flat
If you think Tom Hanks cannot make a bad movie, you haven’t seen Here. This phony, gimmicky and tedious waste of time might not be the first film in the abominable new process called A.I., but I pray...
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Hugh Grant Goes Full Villain in ‘Heretic’—But Who’s Really Terrified?
So much junk has already been written about the risky change of pace Hugh Grant exhibits in an overrated, undercooked fright flick called Heretic that it seems purposeless to contribute more. I’ll...
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‘Maybe Happy Ending’ Is The Most Original, Most Beautiful Musical In Eons
A new Broadway musical about people in love? OK. A new Broadway musical about people in love who are robots? I don’t think so. That’s what I feared when I arrived with trepidation at the Belasco...
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Surviving ‘Swept Away’: A Maritime Disaster in More Ways Than One
Fool that I am, I was excited to hear of a new Broadway play called Swept Away, figuring it would be a sexy adaptation of the great 1974 Italian film by Lina Wertmuller, unsuccessfully remade in 2002...
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‘The Order’ Review: Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult Deliver Gripping, Timely Thrills
With a strong cast, tight script, and exemplary direction, The Order is first-rate filmmaking above and beyond the usual expectations of your standard thriller. It’s the true story behind the FBI...
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‘Maria’ Review: Angelina Jolie Shines in a Visually Stunning but Lifeless Biopic
At the top of her fame, when Maria Callas lived in New York and potential opera singers would lie, cheat, beg, steal or hock their rent money to gain admittance to one of her music lessons, the...
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I Was There: Rex Reed on ‘September 5’ and the Munich Olympics Tragedy
The massacre in Munich—when 11 Israeli athletes were held hostage and murdered by a group of Palestinian terrorists called Black September while the world looked on—may be 52 years old now, but thanks...
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Pamela Anderson Stuns in ‘The Last Showgirl’, but Jamie Lee Curtis Steals the...
Wafting around the edges of minor movies and forgettable TV shows since her initial impact in 1987 in the series Baywatch, fading Canadian beauty Pamela Anderson finds a worthy vehicle at last in The...
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‘Liza’ Shows More Than Anything You’ll Ever See Anywhere Else
No need to know the rest of it. One name says it all. There were other stars named Judy, but only one named Garland. With Liza, that’s all there is. This colorful, star-spangled documentary, assembled...
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‘Wolf Man’ Is a Howling Disaster That Mauls the Classic Horror Legacy
Does anyone know how to make a good, scary, entertaining or even passable horror film anymore? With the junk that crowds the marquees these days as evidence, the answer is a sad, emphatic NO! The most...
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If ‘Presence’ Proves Anything, It’s That Not Every Film Needs to Exist
In 1988, I saw a terrific psychological thriller called Apartment Zero that was so fresh, surprising, sexy, suspenseful and original that it has haunted me for decades. It was in a class by itself,...
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Review: Family Feuds and Plenty of Punchlines in ‘Conversations with Mother’
Conversations with Mother, a new off-Broadway play by Matthew Lombardo at Theatre 555 on 42nd Street, is an entertaining, often touching two-hander about a combative relationship between a troubled...
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‘The Penguin Lessons’ Is a Waddling Delight
Here’s an unexpected charmer, a true story based on a popular autobiographical memoir about a man and a penguin, with a lightness of tone that doesn’t overdo the whimsy. The excellent Steve Coogan...
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Clooney Lights Up Broadway, but ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ Flickers in the...
Broadway has suddenly exploded with passion, intelligence and integrity. It’s been 20 years since Good Night, and Good Luck, George Clooney’s sensational procedural on political corruption in...
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‘Sondheim’s Old Friends’ Is a Love Letter in Two Acts—One Whispered, One Roared
Since the death, at 91, of historic songwriting genius Stephen Sondheim, dozens of concerts, cabaret shows, television specials and Broadway “revues” have honored his memory and celebrated the...
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‘A Nice Indian Boy’ Trades Tropes for Truth
How refreshing it is when a small film with a big heart comes along unannounced and captures your affection. A surprise hit across America as well as a popular streaming link, A Nice Indian Boy is a...
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The Story of an Extraordinary Woman, Played by an Extraordinary Deneuve
Catherine Deneuve, at 81, might have gained a bit of the dreaded matronly demeanor that comes with maturity, but in my opinion, she’s more beautiful than ever. Her latest film, The President’s Wife,...
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‘Floyd Collins’ Review: Adam Guettel’s Best Work Still Lies Ahead
When Stephen Sondheim died, it was the end of a chapter, the farewell to an era, in theatre history. Who, everyone asked, will continue the tradition of the legendary Broadway musical? The gods (and...
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‘Just in Time’ Review: Jonathan Groff Ignites Broadway in a Dazzling Tribute...
Closing out the Broadway season, get ready for spectacular! That’s the word, in my opinion, that best describes Just in Time, the endlessly show-stopping new musical about the late...
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