Freeze Frame

Melissa McCarthy is a funny lady. Can the force of her personality propel the farce “Life of the Party?” Susan and Russ give the lowdown on this back-to-school comedy about a woman who, after divorce, decides to attend the same …

Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody is reunited with Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron in “Tully,” an offbeat comic drama about, of all things, postpartum depression. Theron plays a woman who delivers her third child. Because of exhaustion, she agrees to let her …

If “more” equals “better,” then “Avengers: Infinity War” is everything a Marvel fanboy could hope for. However, in spite of some impressive scenes and spirited individual performances, “Avengers: Infinity War” is just what you’d expect from a $300 million, 2 …

Amy Schumer takes on the issue of body image in the likable comic fantasy, “I Feel Pretty.” She plays an insecure woman who falls and bumps her head and comes to believe that she’s a raging beauty. Although the screenwriters’ …

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has a knack for making a silk purse out of a cinematic sow’s ear. Can he do the same for the cursed video game genre? Maybe so.  In “Rampage,” based on the Midway arcade game, Johnson …

There probably isn’t a director better suited to adapting Ernest Cline’s pop novel “Ready Player One” for the big screen than Steven Spielberg. It’s the sort of visual-heavy sci-fi extravaganza that a lesser filmmaker like Michael Bay would have made …

One day, someone will make a truly good movie based on a video game. We’re still waiting. Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander is the latest to log in for a paycheck. “Tomb Raider” reboots the old Angelina Jolie franchise and the …

“A Wrinkle in Time,” the classic, 1962 award-winning science fantasy novel has finally made it to the big screen. Director Ava DuVernay’s $103 million adaptation is colorful, well meaning and, ultimately, bland. Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling play the …

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence has proven that she’s got the acting chops and personal charisma to elevate so-so material. That ability is sorely needed in the new suspense thriller, “Red Sparrow,” based on the novel by Jason Matthews.   Lawrence …

Pulling off a screwball comedy is as difficult as pulling out the last block in Jenga. There’s always a good chance the whole thing will come toppling down. The goofy farce “Game Night” somehow remains standing even though it’s not …

Marvel’s superhero “Black Panther” finally gets his proper feature-length movie introduction and it’s a rousing, involving adventure. The fact that most of the folks in front of and behind the camera are black makes it all the more compelling. Chawick …

The final chapter in the big screen adaptation of E.L. James’ kinky S&M bestseller “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy finally hits theaters this week. Like its predecessors, “Fifty Shades Freed” isn’t bad enough to be campy fun and is about …

February is “Black History Month,” and people have asked me to put together a list of movie suggestions to commemorate the annual observance. So, here are some films that are, I believe, apt viewing choices.   “12 Years a Slave” …

The clichés and stereotypes that populate most Westerns are upended in “Hostiles,” a brutal, challenging and beautifully filmed drama. Christian Bale leads a terrific cast in the story of a war weary Army captain who, in the late 1800s, reluctantly …

Chris Hemsworth moves from superhero to war hero in“12 Strong,” a tale inspired by the true story of the Green Beret soldiers who were the first sent into action in Afghanistan after 9/11. Historians may quibble about the accuracy of …

One of the year’s most acclaimed movies has finally gotten its Kansas City release. It’s hard to imagine a timelier movie about freedom of the press than “The Post.” Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep star in Steven Spielberg’s riveting drama …

As we leap into 2018 it’s time to look back the best movies the year had to offer. Here’s my list of the cream of the cinematic crop.   10) THE FLORIDA PROJECT (R) The poor who live on the …

As we leap into 2018 it’s time to look back the best movies the year had to offer. Here’s my list of the cream of the cinematic crop.   10) THE FLORIDA PROJECT (R) The poor who live on the fringes of society are the focus of “The Florida Project,” a realistic slice of life drama set […]

It’s hard to imagine a timelier movie about freedom of the press than “The Post.” Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep star in Steven Spielberg’s riveting drama about the Washington Post’s behind the scenes struggles leading up to the publication of …

You can always count on filmmaker Guillermo del Toro to deliver visually arresting and atmospheric cinema. “The Shape of Water” is no exception. This adult sci-fi fantasy is really an oddball love story featuring an aquatic humanoid creature and a …

From “8 1/2” to “Day for Night” to “Ed Wood,” some very entertaining movies are movies about making movies. You can add “The Disaster Artist” to that distinguished list. James Franco directs and stars in “The Disaster Artist,” a behind-the-scenes …

Although filmed in North Carolina, Martin McDonaugh’s bitterly funny comic drama “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri” has a very dark “show me” attitude. Frances McDormand is an instant Oscar front-runner playing a woman who posts billboards to prod Sheriff Woody …

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s “The Avengers!” Er, no, it’s “Justice League.” The DC cinematic universe plays catch up with Marvel by finally getting its superhero coalition to the big screen. Thankfully, it’s a competent offering, written and …

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s “The Avengers!” Er, no, it’s “Justice League.” The DC cinematic universe plays catch up with Marvel by finally getting its superhero coalition to the big screen. Thankfully, it’s a competent offering, written and partially directed by Joss Whedon, the man who gave us the big screen version of […]

Kenneth Branagh’s take on the classic Agatha Christie whodunit “Murder on the Orient Express” is like its namesake: Luxurious, workmanlike…and just a bit stodgy. Branagh plays Belgian detective Hercule Poirot who is pressed into service when a gangster, played by …