Natalie Portman is prancing around on an arena stage in a glittery unitard with silver sequins pasted over her eye brows. As preening pop star Celeste in Vox Lux,the petite and prim Oscar winner —singing and dancing to original music composed by Sia — pushes herself to outsized Gaga-like levels. It’s an inspired transformation, but it’s […]

There’s exactly one Great Scene, and it arrives near the end. That’s when cousins and rivals Mary Queen of Scots (Saoirse Ronan) and Queen Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie) finally meet — on neutral ground — for an intense heart-to-heart. It’s staged in a dreamy maze of fabric to hide Elizabeth’s appearance and culminates in emotionally loaded dialogue […]

This would be a great time to remind you that Julia Roberts is a bona fide Hollywood movie star. The rare unicorn kind that can change the molecules in a room just by standing in it. Her films aren’t just good, they’re beloved. But it’s been years — dare I say decades — since she actually showcased […]

If you think the quickest way to a queen’s heart is through her 17 pet bunny rabbits then have I got the movie for you. The Favourite may seem like a stuffy period piece on its opulent surface — even its title screams “I’m an Oscar movie!” —  but this is one cheeky and wickedly entertaining romp. […]

Escaping into the totally awesome universe of 1980s arcade games is soooo six years ago. That’s why Ralph Breaks the Internet is cutting the cord and going Wifi. The lively sequel to Wreck It Ralph, which features the continuing adventures of lovable lug Ralph (John C. Reilly) and scrappy Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), is irresistible, candy-colored fun […]

When Rocky Balboa talks, you sit up and pay attention. So there’s actual gravitas to a cheesy line like “If you want change something big, you have to make big changes.” If only Creed II would have adhered to the legendary boxing champ’s advice. I grant you that the latest chapter in the Rocky saga […]

From one of the dudes that brought you There’s Something About Mary, Shallow Hal and Dumb & Dumber comes . . . a crowd-pleaser that’s both wonderful and meaningful. Believe it. Green Book, directed and co-written by Peter Farrelly, already earned enthusiastic standing ovations at the Toronto International Film Festival and the SCAD Savannah Film Festival. […]

Perhaps it’s easier to start off this Instant Family review in “could have” terms. The comedy could have been treacly disaster. It also could have provoked angry responses about why, in 2018, we need to see the story of yet another affluent white couple caring for underprivileged kids. It could have led to a career […]

Consider Widowsa more electric, less-frothy version of the caper Ocean’s 8. . . only it’s infinitely better than that sounds. In fact, referring to it as a caper veers on insult. Let’s instead call it a superbly crafted thriller featuring a blockbuster cast — I think Colin Farrell is billed seventh —and a story that comments […]

The name is Salander. Lizbeth Salander. In The Girl in the Spider’s Web, the millennium’s finest Swedish punk-rock hacker vigilante (Claire Foy) dodges bullets and stage-five explosions while chasing the bad guys in a manner that would please James Bond himself. Mind you, the agent would also throw a martini in the director’s face and […]