Time travel movies and others that play with temporal realities are successful or not based on the strength of the plot. You could have the best cast in the world, and it will all end up lost to time if the story doesn’t make sense or, even worse, is too complicated. Some of the best […]
Two divorced parents transform a horrid blind date into a surprise African vacation in the romantic comedy Blended. An overly laid-back store manager and father of three girls, Jim Friedman (Adam Sandler), goes on a blind date with an obsessive closet organizer and mother of two boys named Lauren Reynolds (Drew Barrymore). Jim’s used to having a […]
Two sisters emigrate from Poland to America only to find it less welcoming than they anticipated in The Immigrant. In 1921, Poland was in the final year of a critical war for its own survival against the emerging and expanding Russian Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin. The resulting devastation drove many Poles to flee the country for other […]
An introverted office worker, stuck in a mundane life, meets his twin but quickly learns they’re nothing alike in The Double. There must have been something in the water in Hollywood a while back. In the past year, we’ve seen the release of at least three major doppelganger-based films. Earlier this year, we had Ed Harris […]
Godzilla movies were regular entries in the monster movie marathons that they’d put on the air late at night or on lazy Saturdays spent in front of the TV. I loved these movies because Godzilla would inevitably destroy everything in sight and often fight other creatures in those plots where he was actually saving humanity […]
High school classmates wrestle with the apprehension, risk and wonder of burgeoning independence in Palo Alto. Very few teens emerge from their high school years without the experience leaving an indelible imprint (good and bad) that they’ll carry with them the rest of their lives. For many, the journey can feel like traversing a minefield, […]
A frustrated top chef loses his way before a food truck leads him back in Chef. Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) sweats every detail as the head of a top kitchen’s staff in a very popular Los Angeles restaurant. The owner is a very successful but risk-averse entrepreneur whom we only know as Riva (Dustin Hoffman). They […]
Comedies go in cycles, and every now and then, an outrageous gross-out comedy surfaces and tries to match the success of past winners like The Hangover or just about every Farrelly Brothers entry. We’re the Millers was one of last year’s funniest films, and it managed to keep the laughs coming at a tremendous pace. […]
A couple with an infant daughter find their idyllic suburban world shattered when a fraternity unexpectedly moves in next door in Neighbors. Mac and Kelly Radner (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) are happily going about their business as first-time parents, obsessing over their young daughter. They’re just managing to keep it all in razor-sharp balance […]
An obsessive construction manager finds his world unraveling the night before his biggest assignment in Locke. No matter how prepared we try to be, fate — it would seem — often has other plans for us. Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) is the consummate perfectionist. He’s a high-profile construction manager, overseeing projects that demand his ever-constant vigilance on […]
The mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy officer struggles against social norms to find her own identity in Belle. A curious portrait from 1779 was the inspiration behind the story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). When Dido’s mother passes away unexpectedly, word is sent out to her estranged father, Captain Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode), an […]
Marvel‘s venerable web-slinger returns to protect the city from Electro, the Green Goblin and OsCorp in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. I grew up with what’s called “Retro Spider-Man” — an animated series that originally ran from 1967 to 1970. Even with its occasionally outrageous plots and rather low-quality animation, every kid in the neighborhood was a huge […]