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Captain Marvel Review: Just a Girl, Outta This World

Deirdre Crimmins — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 17:00:53 +0000

The ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe has a need to keep adding new characters to stay fresh and fun. Also, considering that Avengers: Infinity War killed off roughly half the cast, heroes and humans alike, it seems like a good time to add some fresh meat onto the grill. Captain Marvel is not just an origin...

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Sundance Journal: The Report

Jason Gorber — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 16:00:56 +0000

As the American political system continues to devolve to tribalism, it’s often refreshing to remember that there are people within the trenches of power who continue to fight for a more perfect union not only for institutional but moral reasons. The Report is such a feel-good story, one where a near-anonymous bureaucrat toils in a...

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‘Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool’ Review: No Careers Die Here

Philip Brown — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 17:00:15 +0000

There are some truly wonderful things in ‘Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool’, chief among them being Annette Bening’s beautifully measured and heart-wrenching performance. Unfortunately, the movie suffers from a similar fate as last year’s disappointment ‘The Founder’. The film is written to be a twist on celebrity bio-pic clichés and is even performed as...

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TIFF Journal: ‘Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool’

Philip Brown — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 15:00:33 +0000

Sweet and so strange it had to be true, ‘Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool’ gives the celebrities-playing-celebrities bio subgenre a good name. It helps that this isn’t a predictable rise and fall yarn. It’s a distinctly sad, unique, funny, and moving little tale about a star past her prime and an odd love that...

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’20th Century Women’ Review: Pointed Portraiture

Philip Brown — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 17:00:14 +0000

’20th Century Women’ makes a strong case for filmmakers indulgently wallowing in memory and autobiography. It’s a sweet and touching little picture that suggests writer/director Mike Mills might just be transforming into quite an interesting filmmaker. A former music video director, Mills debuted into features with the toothache twee of ‘Thumbsucker’, then proved to be...

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‘Danny Collins’ Review: Placid Pacino Tomfoolery

Philip Brown — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 19:00:01 +0000

For years, we’ve suffered the indignity of watching Robert De Niro attempt to redefine his career by committing to comedy rather than that “acting” thing he helped revolutionize. His forever linked contemporary Al Pacino, meanwhile, decided to give up subtle acting in favor of screaming all his dialogue, convinced that the best performances are the...

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‘The Search’ Review: Too Serious to Take Seriously

Philip Brown — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 15:00:00 +0000

‘The Artist’ was one of the most unexpected Oscar-dominators in recent memory. Other than Harvey Weinstein, who else could have predicted that a black-and-white silent movie would charm the pants off the damn planet? Certainly not writer/director Michel Hazanavicius, who suddenly found himself a world-renowned filmmaker with the clout to make anything he pleased as...

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Now Playing: True (Fictional) Romance

Luke Hickman — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 15:00:20 +0000

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the directors of 2006’s ‘Little Miss Sunshine‘, have finally returned to the big screen with ‘Ruby Sparks’, an intriguing, entertaining and downright charming little romantic comedy with a very creative and original premise. For me, ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ is an all-around perfect film; I wouldn’t change a thing about it....

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Mid-Week Oscar Poll: Best Actress 2011

Josh Zyber — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:00:52 +0000

Last week, we asked you to pick this year’s Best Actor award. It only stands to reason that we’ll be asking you about Best Actress this time. READ THIS BEFORE VOTING: We seem to have encountered a lot of confusion last week. Let me be very clear that we’re giving you two separate polls. First,...

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Now Playing: ‘The Kids Are All Right’ Is More Than All Right

Drew Taylor — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:00:26 +0000

It’s been a bad summer. I keep saying that, mostly because it’s true. It’s been overrun by loud, obnoxious studio movies that appeal to little kids (‘Marmaduke,’ ‘Shrek Forever After’) or adolescent boys (‘The A-Team,’ ‘Grown Ups’). The studios know this, and every year they place their bets on a crowd-pleasing indie, one that has...

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