Not so long ago — as in, 2016 — the best excuse to go to the movies during the height of summer was the opportunity to bask in air conditioning. But June brought Wonder Woman, The Big Sick and Baby Driver; three movies sure to have lingering buzz come awards time. (Pundits will likely put The Beguiled […]
Independence Day is old enough to drink. The so-bad-it’s-great sci-fi thriller about an evil alien invasion premiered exactly 21 years ago. (Technically, the movie was released July 2.) To put that number in perspective, star Will Smith was just two months removed from the last episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. To put that […]
When it comes to broad summer comedies, there’s a sturdy line between dumb-funny and plain ole’ excruciating dumb. Dumb-funny is a gift from the ha-ha heavens. Ted. Bad Moms. This is the End. Go back further to There’s Something About Mary and American Pie. Amen! And then there’s The House. Shrill, relentlessly lame-brained and more disposable than […]
Teen Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider. He marvels at his new wall-scaling powers. He’s horrified by the death of his beloved elderly Uncle Ben. He falls for his classmate, Mary Jane Watson. He’s tangled in a web of self-doubt!!! You will find zero of these developments in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Yes. A franchise […]
My 9-year-old nephew gave me a stern warning over the phone before my Despicable Me 3 screening: “Auntie Mara, go in stupid.” Fair enough. This is a candy-coated world, after all, in which a supervillain turned superagent named Gru once tried to steal the moon. And yellow minions, who speak gibberish and look like calorie-laden […]
Don’t look at the calendar now, but we’re already halfway through the 2017 summer movie season. Where does the time go, people!!! But I digress. What began with a semi-splash (Guardians of the Galaxy Volume II) gave way to eye-opening triumph (Woman Woman), which ushered in a slew of rehashed mehs (The Mummy, Cars 3, Transformers 67.) […]
George Clooney: Husband. Father of twins. Former TV doctor who fathered twins. Two-time Oscar winner. Facts of Life handyman. Casamigos Tequila co-creator. Admit it. From a distance, the tequila title seemed like a celebrity vanity project. He slapped his name on alcohol in the same way that Jennifer Lopez slapped her name on perfume. During publicity rounds, […]
The Beguiled is that blessedly rare movie in which female stars are upstaged by a female director. Sofia Coppola — the Oscar-nominated scion who brings a dreamy-yet-astute sensuality to her oeuvre — decided to put her own spin on a 1971 Clint Eastwood creep-fest. She put Nicole Kidman and Virgin Suicides muse Kirsten Dunst in two […]
I won’t review the new Transformers movie It’s called The Last Knight I’ve thought about long and hard about it And I’ve concluded that I’m right I just did a Google search The movie is 150 minutes long I’d rather unload my dishwasher Or listen to the new Nickelback song I can tell […]
That title is a misnomer. The movie is not some weepy Nicholas Sparks melodrama or groundbreaking medical crusade. Illness is merely a supporting character. So just forget about what The Big Sick isn’t and focus on what it is: One of the sharpest and most genuine romantic comedies to come around in a long time. And […]