There is nothing quite so thrilling as a revisionist theory of a well-known story when it works, and no better example of that than WICKED. First a book, then a theatrical musical, it has now made its way to the silver screen giving us The Wizard of Oz from the point of view of the… Read More »
CYRANO
Joe Wright has a genius for taking the stories we know all too well and making them feel like a delightful new discovery. Seek no further than his take on ANNA KARENINA (interview here), which, pace fans of Garbo and Leigh, is my favorite adaptation of Tolstoy’s classic. Is it absolutely true to the source… Read More »
THE CROODS: A NEW AGE
The animation in THE CROODS: A NEW AGE is just as lovely as it was in the original. As we find our cave family going through some changes, though, the story, while lively, has a distinctly mid-century sit-com vibe, and not just because that Partridge Family anthem, “I Think I Love You”, is on repeat… Read More »
THE BOSS
Melissa McCarthy may be the funniest woman working in film or on television today. Certainly, there is no one funnier, and no one more adept, at finding both humor and pathos in a given situation. When armed with a great script — think THE HEAT or her breakout role in BRIDESMAIDS — she is a… Read More »
PIXELS System Crash
If I had to single one thing out as being the saddest moment in PIXELS, it would have to be when Michelle Monaghan, as a newly dumped wife is forced to find solace from Adam Sandler as she is weeping and drinking chardonnay from a sippy cup on the floor of her closet.
THE STATION AGENT
THE STATION AGENT is a quietly powerful film about the unspeakable awkwardness of life. Writer/director Thomas McCarthy won the Audience Award at Sundance, and rightly so, for this tale of three disparate people who find themselves where they least expected, thrown together in this great messy adventure called life. The hero is Fin, a 4’5″… Read More »
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA — PRINCE CASPIAN
Call it the sophomore curse. Call it going to the well once too often, in this case twice. Call it the way the Christ-substitute in THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN, that would be the lion Aslan, does as he explains to sweet little pre-teen Lucy why he in all his goodness has allowed bad… Read More »