Freeze Frame

Mark Ruffalo portrays a conflicted corporate lawyer in the sincere social drama, “Dark Waters.” This true story involves mysterious deaths and illnesses in a small community that may have been caused by the malfeasance of a major US corporation. Ruffalo plays Robert Bilott, who waged a 20-year war with DuPont. As a work of social […]

Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci deliver the goods in Martin Scorsese’s epic, violent gangster flick, “The Irishman.” In a sweeping tale that takes place over a number of years, DeNiro plays a truck driver and hitman who serves as a go-between linking the Teamsters Union and the mob. Pacino plays the colorful union […]

“The Report” is an intriguing and political drama that focuses on the investigation that uncovered the CIA torture program during the Gulf War. Adam Driver stars as lead investigator Daniel Jones who spent years fighting to find the truth and then battling forces that tried to keep that truth under wraps. While the drama is […]

Actor Edward Norton (“Birdman”) wrote, produced, directed and stars in “Motherless Brooklyn,” a big screen adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s novel. It’s a film noir thriller about a private eye who uncovers city corruption in New York City. It also stars Alec Baldwin, Bruce Willis, Willem DeFoe and Gug Mbatha Raw.

Hollywood’s ‘Master of Disaster,’ director Roland Emmerich, is best known for big screen spectacles like “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow.” He gives the famous South Pacific WWII battle “Midway” that same splashy, special effects-heavy treatment. While the action sequences are impressive the human drama is soapy and superficial. Stars like Woody Harrelson and […]

Actor Edward Norton wrote, produced, directed and stars in the moody film noir melodrama, “Motherless Brooklyn.” Norton is excellent as a gumshoe with Tourette’s Syndrome who uncovers a web of fraud and racial exploitation in 50s New York City when he investigates the death of his employer, played by Bruce Willis. The solid supporting cast […]

With a great cast and a riveting true story to work with, “The Current War” should have been an electrifying movie. It tells the tale of the bitter competition between Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse during the early days of electrical power. Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon and Nicholas Hoult are all fine, but […]

Disney’s Halloween season offering is a sequel to a 2014 hit that flipped the script on “Sleeping Beauty,” turning the evil sorceress into a heroine. Angelina Jolie is back in the titular role of the gargantuan production, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.” Apparently, the filmmakers wanted to make a kiddie version of “Game of Thrones,” giving […]

Gary Oldman has always been a busy actor, but since picking up his Oscar as Winston Churchill in 2017’s “Darkest Hour,” he’s made ten more movies. If the horror entry “Mary” is any indicator, perhaps Oldman should seriously consider slowing down the pace a bit. In what is essentially a haunted house movie set at […]

Joaquin Phoenix gives a riveting performance in “Joker,” undoubtedly one of the more controversial and provocative movies of the year. Can the hard knocks of life rob a person of the gift of empathy? On one hand, that seems to be the story’s underlying theme, but, intentional or not, “Joker” is sending mixed messages.   […]

If ever there were a role designed to attract gold statuettes, this is it. The last tragic months in the life of Hollywood legend Judy Garland provide Renée Zellweger the role of a lifetime in “Judy.” After 30 years of drugs, insomnia and loveless marriages, Garland attempts a comeback on the London stage. Zellweger captures […]

Brad Pitt takes an impassioned space odyssey in the earnest sci-fi epic, “Ad Astra.” Pitt plays an astronaut who is sent to the far reaches of our solar system to see if he can locate his long-lost scientist father, played by Tommy Lee Jones, who is believed to still be living on a remote research […]

Jennifer Lopez gives an assured and charismatic performance in “Hustlers,” the true story of some Manhattan strippers who, during the financial crisis of 2008, began drugging and ripping off their Wall Street clients. Constance Wu plays a stripping newbie J-Lo takes under her wing. The ethics of this female empowerment story are dubious, but “Hustlers” […]

Jillian Bell gives a star-making performance in the comic drama, “Brittany Runs a Marathon,” the story of an overweight Manhattan party girl who tries to break out of her personal rut through running. It’s smart and often funny. The only problem is that this story about a marathon is its pace. Still, “Brittany” finishes strong. […]

Two of America’s finest actresses attempt a gender flip remake of the acclaimed 2006 Danish drama, “After the Wedding.” Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams both do terrific wrok here, but their performances aren’t enough to help this soapy reboot make an effective emotional connection. Moore plays a zillionaire corporate executive who manipulates the charity-minded Williams […]

“Ready or Not” is a shamelessly violent and deranged horror comedy. Samara Weaving is sharp as a woman who marries into an eccentric, spectacularly wealthy family only to be forced to participate in a deadly game of hide and seek. It’s ugly gore played for laughs. If you’ve got the properly twisted sense of humor, […]

If your idea of cinematic hilarity is hearing three sixth grade boys cuss like sailors and chat on and on about sex and drugs, have I got the movie for you. “Good Boys” is like a pre-teen “Superbad,” a raunchy R-rated movie that’s stars are so young, they wouldn’t be allowed in to see it. […]

The mob drama “The Kitchen” is a bit undercooked. Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elizabeth Moss star in this ethically dubious thriller based on a comic book series. They play the wives of Irish mobsters who take over their husbands’ protection racket when the men are sent to prison. In spite of its fine cast, […]

The 2001 movie “The Fast and the Furious” was based on a true story about LA street racers. Over the years, the films in the franchise have evolved into action fantasies so preposterous that they make James Bond flicks look like documentaries by comparison. Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham star in the ninth film in […]

For his ninth feature film, writer/director Quentin Tarantino presents a very dark Valentine to the town and the art form he grew up loving and copying. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is about the movie business and the folks who attempt to survive the dramatic changes Tinseltown underwent in the late 1960s.   Leonardo […]

Disney’s stampede to create so-called ‘live-action’ remakes of its animated classics continues with “The Lion King.” The super-realistic computer-generated imagery that replaces the classic hand-drawn animation is nothing short of spectacular. But for some reason, the cinematic magic of the 1994 version doesn’t make the transition quite as smoothly. Much of the film is a […]

The violent action farce “Stuber” plays a bit like a comic reworking of the Tom Cruise/Jamie Foxx action flick, “Collateral.” Kumail Nanjiani plays an Uber driver named Stu, hence the jokey title. Dave Bautista is an LA cop who commandeers the ride, forcing Stu to take him on a series of trips to capture a […]

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man just wants to enjoy a quiet European vacation with his high school pals. Is that too much to ask? Of course, it is. Tom Holland returns as the socially artless Peter Parker in “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” During his summer holiday on the continent, Peter is recruited by Samuel L. Jackson’s […]

What if the Beatles never existed but you knew all of their songs? That’s the high-concept behind the comic romantic fantasy, “Yesterday.” Himesh Patel plays a wannabe singer who, mystically, is the only person who remembers the songs of the Fab Four and becomes an overnight sensation. An appealing cast, sharp direction and great music […]

It’s nothing less than a cinematic miracle. The folks at Pixar have gone back to an old mine and found more gold. “Toy Story 4” is a brilliantly conceived and executed animated story that works as a comedy, as an action adventure and as an emotionally satisfying conclusion to the series. As usual, Pixar’s animation […]