Clik here to view.
‘Daddio’ Is Intimate Without Warrant
Daddio is a dreary two-hander with the look, feel and sound of one hand clapping. Conceived and word processed by first-time writer-director Christy Hall, it takes place in the form of a dialogue...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Longlegs’ Is a Stupid, Zero-Star Dumpster Fire
It’s summer, when multiplex marquees are bloated with hunks of junk. One learns, through experience, to expect mediocrity at the movies. What one does not expect is a load of total trash full of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Fly Me to the Moon’ Is a Sad, Silly, Over-Produced Disappointment
At a sorry time when most movies are about nothing, Fly Me to the Moon, a rom-com set in the chaos and cross purposes of the heroic Apollo 11 moon landing, deserves attention because even though it is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Drop-Dead Glamour-Puss Glen Powell Is a Reason to See ‘Twisters’
Before tornado movies threaten to become a cottage industry, just remember that in spite of both the bad ones and the forthcoming plans for more that are being assembled on the drawing boards as we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘The Fabulous Four’ Is the Latest Humiliation of Seniors Seeking Employment
At a time when mature women are making giant strides toward honor, respect and dignity in every walk of life, progress to gain equal footing is evident everywhere except the movies. Even for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Close to You’ Review: Elliot Page’s Brave, Bold, Confusing Performance
After a triumphant splash in Juno, Elliot Page got Oscar nominated, was on his way to a promising career as an important film star with range and talent, and then suddenly disappeared for 17 years....
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘The Union’ Doesn’t Make a Lick of Sense, Which Makes Sense
I’m no stranger to lament when it comes to the disintegration of quality in what passes for movies today, but then along comes a bucket of swill like The Union to remind me things are even worse than...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hemingway’s Worst Novel Gets Worse: ‘Across the River’ Is a Dull, Pointless...
Does anyone know how to make a movie these days that makes sense, with enough plot, narrative coherence and character development to keep a viewer from falling asleep? Hope springs eternal, but the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘The Thicket’ Review: Blood, Violence and Little Else in This Bleak Western
The search never ends for ways to make old genres like cowboy movies look fresh and different. To this purpose, there is a shoot-em-up called The Thicket. No cowboys here, but it’s still a Western,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Speak No Evil’ Collapses in Carnage
Remakes are odious, but Speak No Evil, while thoroughly unneeded and unasked for, is an Americanized remake of a 2022 thriller from Denmark that services its original material well, thanks mostly to a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone Are a Perfect Pair in ‘The Roommate’
Mia Farrow has not been on a Broadway stage for so long that we forgot how much we missed her. Now she’s back in a new play called The Roommate, and she’s forgotten nothing, so why should we? She’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Who Can Blame an Apathetic Halle Berry? ‘Never Let Go’ Is Relentlessly Obtuse.
A state of desperate deprivation that signifies the lack of imagination that plagues most movies today and deprives decent performers from doing their usual work with pride is seriously damaging a lot...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kate Winslet’s Transfixing Performance Makes ‘Lee’ Vivid and Unforgettable
Great biopics about great people demand great writing and great centerpiece performances. The splendid film Lee, a riveting, honorable and comprehensive chronicle about the extraordinary life, work...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Michael Keaton Shines in ‘Goodrich’—A Heartfelt Comeback for Real Men on Screen
One of the things I like best about watching Michael Keaton on the screen in movies, good or bad (and especially in human and often hilarious comedies like Goodrich), is the rare and gratifying skill...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Left On Tenth’ Is Funny, Touching, Intelligently Written And Beautifully Acted
If you’re a veteran theatergoer lamenting the absence of good, old-fashioned love stories on Broadway, hope has arrived. Left on Tenth—the new play by Delia Ephron, the playwright and sister of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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...
View Article