I had only seen Disney’s original animated film Dumbo (1941) in January for the first time, knowing that this version was approaching. I like the original, but don’t love it — especially the fact that the young elephant gets drunk, […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
The Chaperone (2018) ☆ ☆ ☆
I know little to nothing about Louise Brooks, the silent-era actress best known for the German films Pandora’s Box (1928) and Diary of a Lost Girl (1929). I thought she was German; turns out she was born in Kansas and […]
Continue reading »True Grit (1969) ☆ ☆ ☆
Turner Classic Movies hosted a fiftieth anniversary showing of the semi-classic western True Grit in May (yes, that’s how far behind I am in writing my reviews; I’m striving to catch up this month), and I was happy to view […]
Continue reading »Long Shot (2019) ☆ ☆
Opposites attracting has been a romantic staple forever. This movie posits that female presidential candidate Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron) gradually falls for journalist / speechwriter Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) whom she knew when they were young. It’s a nicely developed, […]
Continue reading »The Best of Enemies (2019) ☆ ☆ ☆
Based on actual events, this drama recreates the scene in 1971 North Carolina, when a school integration plan was opposed by local bigots, led quite openly by the Ku Klux Klan. It recreates, in remarkable detail, how an unlikely mediation, […]
Continue reading »Captain Marvel (2019) ☆ ☆ ☆
Besides Wonder Woman and Black Widow, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) has emerged to be the newest female cinematic superhero. Her story is a convoluted one, and it seems to me that her appearance at this time was primarily intended to […]
Continue reading »Gloria Bell (2018) ☆ ☆
When a filmmaker revisits his or her own material for a remake, there ought to be a really strong reason for doing so. Sebastian Lelio has remade his acclaimed 2013 Chilean movie Gloria in America as Gloria Bell, a vehicle […]
Continue reading »Transit (2018) ☆ ☆
Some films are confounding just because. The confounding elements are purposeful, of course, yet viewers cannot help but wonder why they are seeing what they are seeing. The setting of Transit is one such example of “what-the-hell?” filmmaking. Christian Petzold’s […]
Continue reading »The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) ☆ ☆
I was pleasantly surprised by the first Lego Movie a few years ago, and then by the Lego Batman Movie soon after. They are inventive, fun, films that demonstrate what can be created with these building blocks, and show how […]
Continue reading »How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) ☆ ☆ ☆
While I am not a big fan of fantasy, or animated fantasy, I readily admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed these How to Train Your Dragon films a great deal. The third one is no exception. I am a sucker […]
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