This is the third movie version of Roald Dahl’s book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” all three having musical elements and, happily, all three being rather different than one another. I really enjoy the 1971 Mel Stuart musical; it improves […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) ☆ ☆
Yet another DC misadventure floats into and out of movie history with more of a ripple than a splash. The second, and almost certainly final, Aquaman adventure follows a similar path as the first one five years ago. Only, when […]
Continue reading »It Ain’t Over (2022) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
Anybody who, like myself, loves America’s Pastime and rejoices in its history needs to see this documentary about the great, underrated Yogi Berra. The Yankees catcher was the heart and soul of a team that dominated the American League from […]
Continue reading »Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) ☆ ☆
I waited until I had seen the first Shazam! movie before I saw its sequel. So in early December I watched Shazam! (2019), which rates just ☆ ☆. It’s another of those working-class superhero movies, like the recent Blue Beetle, which wonders […]
Continue reading »The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023) ☆ ☆ ☆
In every review that I have written about the “Hunger Games” films I have at least mentioned how repellent I find the premise of children and teenagers forced to hunt and kill each other by an authoritarian state, for purposes […]
Continue reading »Jules (2023) ☆ ☆ 1/2
When I first saw Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977 — which is my all-time favorite movie — I remember being disappointed that the Army is so deeply involved in meeting the aliens. I wanted Roy Neary and Gillian […]
Continue reading »Godzilla Minus One (2023) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
With all due respect to Shin Godzilla, the acclaimed 2016 monster movie that I have not yet seen, I hereby declare that Godzilla Minus One is the greatest Godzilla film ever made. And I’ve seen a bunch of them. The early Toto […]
Continue reading »Smile (2022) ☆ ☆
Creepy horror films aren’t really my thing, either, but since they constitute so much of what is being produced these days, I’ll be seeing and reviewing some from time to time. This one was a surprise hit last year, thanks […]
Continue reading »Firestarter (2022) ☆ ☆
This is the second go-round for Charlie McGee, a young girl with pyrotechnic and telekinetic powers that a secret governmental agency would like to control and harness. She first appeared in the 1984 adaptation of Stephen King’s book, in the […]
Continue reading »The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021) ☆ ☆ 1/2
I missed this biopic when it was newsworthy and later when it won two Academy Awards — for Jessica Chastain’s performance as the title character, and for the extensive makeup and hairstyling she endured — but have finally caught up […]
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