Category: Movies

First, my October 7, 2022 weekend trip to L.A. celebrated a 100th anniversary (see previous post New Order & Pet Shop Boys: A Hollywood Bowl Synthsation) and then the next day a one-year birthday for what will become another L.A. cultural institution. After years of dreaming and planning, the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum opened…

Never thought I’d rave about a relative unknown actor while questioning Tom Hanks’ performance. But that’s the undeniable conclusion after seeing Elvis; Baz Luhrmann’s (The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge) glitzy, amped-up rock biopic. Butler is a tour de force as Elvis, particularly in his gyrating heyday. There’s a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on and the…

I’m not the right person for a superhero movie best-of list. While I enjoyed Black Panther, Wonder Woman, Iron Man, early Spider-Man and Superman, and particularly the Dark Knight Batman trilogy, much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a mystery to me. I haven’t seen any of the Avengers, Captain America, Deadpool, Thor, Doctor…

Since I missed its premier on the National Geographic Channel and don’t have Disney+, I haven’t seen The Rescue, a 2021 documentary from filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (see Post-Olympics Letdown? Try Rowing and Climbing for a review of their death-defying Free Solo). So, I was glad to see Ron Howard’s new feature…

Dinosaurs. They roamed the earth two hundred million plus years ago, were wiped out in a mass extinction, and have fascinated us since the first fossils were discovered in the early 19th century. The term “dinosaur,” meaning “terrible lizard,” was coined by Richard Wright in 1841. Later, fossil records showed that birds are actually feathered…

Schindler’s List. Imitation Game. The Darkest Hour. Hacksaw Ridge. Zookeeper’s Wife. Valkyrie. The Monuments Men. Add Operation Mincemeat to the long list of relatively unknown and unbelievably true stories from World War II. The 2022 film, directed by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love), based on the novel of the same name by Ben Macintyre, is…

A tranquil courtyard and stripped-down tense music. Serene, beautiful California landscape complete with orchards and a swimming pool. Seven minutes of silence as a man cruises around the property, gains entry inside the house, helps himself to a glass of OJ, pees in the shower, and riffles through drawers for valuables. The wealthy homeowners unexpectedly…

“You were right. There is nothing. Nothing is after you. You’re safe now.” This is the nebulous suicide note that will send grieving widow, Beth, on an obsessive search for answers. Why did her husband, Owen, row a boat out from their lakeside home and shoot himself? What does the note mean? Safe from what?…

“That was the greatest night in the history of television, ” said presenter Chris Rock after Will Smith stormed the stage and slapped him on live TV. Rock was presenting the award for Best Documentary and made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, “I can’t wait to see you in G.I. Jane 2,”…

My post last year after the Academy Awards focused on the dismal ratings of the ceremony – Oscars 2021: The Show, the Awards, and the Uncertain Future. Let’s not worry about that this time. Often by now many of the categories are sure things building an unstoppable momentum during the Awards season. That’s still the…

A meteor lights up the night sky and crashes into Earth. Big bugs are multiplying in the forest. One is shown biting, burrowing, and exploding inside a human body. Malik Khan (Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal) wakes up in a motel room with bloodshot eyes and large insects loudly scurrying along the walls. The former…