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 […]
We’re knee-deep in Oscar season now, which means that a prestige drama titled The Front Runner begets high expectations. A former presidential hopeful named Gary Hart once had high expectations too. In 1988, the Colorado senator had the youthful good looks, charm and the political cred to conceivably go all the way to the White House. […]
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! As a longtime film critic, I’m obviously referring to the return of the Starbucks red cups. Coming in a close second: A slew of holiday movies so promising that they might as well be tied up in a ribbon. Crowd-pleasing comedies? Done. Superhero extravaganzas? Duh. Offerings for […]
Queen front man Freddie Mercury was a larger-than-life showman in every sense of the word. The notion of an actor capturing his stage presence, let alone his fiery persona, in a film has long seemed as daunting a task as playing the piano solo of “Bohemian Rhapsody” while blindfolded. Enter Rami Malek. It’s not just […]