Freeze Frame

Disney continues its strategy of making so-called live-action films featuring characters from its animated classics. Ewan McGregor plays the troubled “Christopher Robin,” a grown-up who has lost touch with the magic of childhood. Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and his …

At age 56, it may seem impossible for Tom Cruise to do his own stunts, pilot doomed helicopters, run his own cameras and lead high-speed motorcycle chases. But he and his co-stars do all this and more in the sixth …

Disney continues its strategy of making so-called live-action films featuring characters from its animated classics. Ewan McGregor plays the troubled “Christopher Robin,” a grown-up who has lost touch with the magic of childhood. Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood step into the real world to help him reconnect with his family and rediscover joy. Although bea...

At age 56, it may seem impossible for Tom Cruise to do his own stunts, pilot doomed helicopters, run his own cameras and lead high-speed motorcycle chases. But he and his co-stars do all this and more in the sixth entry in the breathless action franchise, “Mission: Impossible – Fallout.” Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must attain three nuclear warheads from powerful and skilled anarchists before the...

Audiences say they want originality, but do they actually prefer familiarity? If the latter is true, then “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” should catch the fancy of audiences who made the original 2008 Abba musical a box office hit. …

Audiences say they want originality, but do they actually prefer familiarity? If the latter is true, then “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” should catch the fancy of audiences who made the original 2008 Abba musical a box office hit. All of the original cast members are back, joined by a cadre of actors who portray the characters in their earlier years. The flimsy-dual timeline plot doesn’t make sense...

“Die Hard” meets “The Towering Inferno” in “Skyscraper,” Duane “The Rock” Johnson’s third action/adventure special effects extravaganza in the past seven months. Johnson plays a security expert whose family is trapped above the fire line when the world’s tallest building …

“Die Hard” meets “The Towering Inferno” in “Skyscraper,” Duane “The Rock” Johnson’s third action/adventure special effects extravaganza in the past seven months. Johnson plays a security expert whose family is trapped above the fire line when the world’s tallest building in Hong Kong is torched by a crime syndicate. Can he save his loved ones while battling the elements, the bad guys and the cops?...

In the Marvel Universe, we’ve recently been hit with the dark tragedy of “Avengers: Infinity War” and the comic superhero parody, “Deadpool 2.” In tone, the latest Marvel entry, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” falls somewhere in between. Paul Rudd is …

In the Marvel Universe, we’ve recently been hit with the dark tragedy of “Avengers: Infinity War” and the comic superhero parody, “Deadpool 2.” In tone, the latest Marvel entry, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” falls somewhere in between. Paul Rudd is back in a light-hearted thriller that has Ant-Man joining forces with The Wasp, played by Evangeline Lilly, in an attempt to save her mother from entrapment i...

“Sicario: Day of the Soldado” is a sequel to the acclaimed drug war drama from 2015. The follow up is equally grim and cynical, this time adding the element of human trafficking along the southern border to the mix. James …

“Sicario: Day of the Soldado” is a sequel to the acclaimed drug war drama from 2015. The follow up is equally grim and cynical, this time adding the element of human trafficking along the southern border to the mix. James Brolin’s amoral federal agent recruits the reluctant Benicio Del Toro to stage a Mexican kidnapping aimed at starting a war between cartels. The screenplay crackles with sharp di...

If you haven’t witnessed the marketing blitz for “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” I hope you get your TV, radio and internet service back soon. The fifth film in the popular series should take in a monstrous haul at the box …

If you haven’t witnessed the marketing blitz for “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” I hope you get your TV, radio and internet service back soon. The fifth film in the popular series should take in a monstrous haul at the box office but doesn’t quite live up to the quality of the last outing. Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and the special effects magicians all return to save the resurrected dinos...

The remake of the classic 70s blaxploitation flick “Superfly” replaces gritty with glossy. Trevor Jackson plays an ultra-smooth Atlanta drug dealer who tries to arrange one last big score and get out of the game. This violent crime drama is …

The remake of the classic 70s blaxploitation flick “Superfly” replaces gritty with glossy. Trevor Jackson plays an ultra-smooth Atlanta drug dealer who tries to arrange one last big score and get out of the game. This violent crime drama is slick and competently made but adds nothing new or notable and looks more like a music video than a movie. The score has a few snippets of Curtis Mayfield’s gr...

Flip the script, make the con men con women, but keep the cheeky feel. That seems to be the thought process behind the comic heist spin-off, “Ocean’s Eight.” Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and a bevy of talented actresses fill the …

Flip the script, make the con men con women, but keep the cheeky feel. That seems to be the thought process behind the comic heist spin-off, "Ocean's Eight." Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and a bevy of talented actresses fill the roles but aren't really challenged by the material. Still, they seem to be having fun. Anne Hathaway, doing something of a self-parody as a vacuous actress, has the only...

If you’re planning a boat trip any time soon, you may not want to see “Adrift,” a harrowing true story. Shailene Woodley plays Tami Oldham, a young woman whose sailboat was severely damaged by a storm when she and her …

If you’re planning a boat trip any time soon, you may not want to see “Adrift,” a harrowing true story. Shailene Woodley plays Tami Oldham, a young woman whose sailboat was severely damaged by a storm when she and her boyfriend, played by Sam Claflin, were attempting a trans-Atlantic trip. With little hope of survival, she had to muster some nearly superhuman determination to save herself and her...

If there is a litmus test for the new Star Wars entry “Solo,” it lies in one’s perception of actor Alden Ehrenreich who takes on the role of the young Han Solo, once embodied by the one-and-only Harrison Ford. Can …

If there is a litmus test for the new Star Wars entry “Solo,” it lies in one’s perception of actor Alden Ehrenreich who takes on the role of the young Han Solo, once embodied by the one-and-only Harrison Ford. Can this young upstart capture the swagger, arrogance and sense of humor that Ford brought to the part? For my money, I say, “Yes.” Directed -at least in part- by Oscar-winner Ron Howard, “S...

Shamelessly raunchy, unapologetically profane and completely irreverent, Marvel’s R-rated 2016 superhero parody “Deadpool” became a surprise box office smash. The equally obscene sequel doesn’t quite match it, but with a zippy pace, well-staged action and Ryan Reynolds’ cheeky performance, “Deadpool …

Shamelessly raunchy, unapologetically profane and completely irreverent, Marvel’s R-rated 2016 superhero parody “Deadpool” became a surprise box office smash. The equally obscene sequel doesn’t quite match it, but with a zippy pace, well-staged action and Ryan Reynolds’ cheeky performance, “Deadpool 2” comes close. Marvelites will relish the movie’s self-referential humor, cocky attitude and energ...

Can Melissa McCarthy breathe life into a tired comedy formula? Well, she gives it the old college try in “Life of the Party.” When dumped by her husband, McCarthy decides to go back to college, the same school her daughter …