Keep in mind that sitting through a terrible movie in one of those reclining leather lounge chairs is still more pleasant than 99.999999 percent of all other time-consuming activities. But I’m here today to vent about that .0000001 percent. (Well, .0000002 percent if you count Gotti, which still sits at 0 percent on Rotten Tomatoes). My […]

When Steve Carell hosted Saturday Night Livein November, he neglected to plug Welcome to the Marwenin his monologue. Now I understand why. His new film is gooey dreck that attempts to be a quirky comedy, an earnest drama and a warm-hearted fantasy about the Nazis — and fails mightily at all the above. The entire work […]

A new Transformers movie is here. For the past 11 years, the meaning behind that sentence has ranked up there with “The wind chill makes it feel like 2 degrees.” Don’t need it, don’t want it.  But Bumblebee, a would-be prequel, is most definitely not a bombastic and soulless monster. Not only is it the best film […]

When it comes to villains, former Vice President Dick Cheney makes Darth Vader seem like a cuddly teddy bear. The visually unassuming man, described early on as “monotone bureaucrat,” decided to start a war all for the wrong reasons. Gave the green light to torture foreigners, relying on semantics to keep it lawful. Used his […]

Don’t worry, Mary Poppins is here. And though the stylish British nanny looks a bit different than you may remember, she’s still super-talented at bringing eye-popping wonder and whimsy into the lives of everyone around her. Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious, in fact. That’s why the best thing you could do for yourself right now is let the fantastical […]

When you get motion sickness on a choppy boat, you’re supposed to stare out at the horizon. Experts say that the fixated sight will immediately calm the senses. For the wildly unstable Aquaman, may I suggest that you keep your eyes on star Jason Momoa. He’s a hirsute beast of a man that could probably […]

I wasn’t knocked out by Creed II, and I didn’t sniffle at the end of A Star Is Born even though Ally belts out that power ballad Jackson Maine wrote just for her. It’s important to reveal these confessions up high and before we get into the list. Truth is, 100 people could see the same movie […]

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 […]