The quirky song that virtually everyone in America has experienced at one time or another is uncovered in the documentary Hava Nagila (The Movie). The Electric Slide, The Hokey Pokey and even YMCA have nothing on this age-old Jewish standard. We all know it. We’ve all experienced it — or soon will (for younger readers) — and yet almost […]

I know nothing about Scotch whisky. I’ve had it three or four times in my life, and I think I had really good brands based on the assessments of the friends who brought the bottles. Of course, there are many enthusiasts around the world who spend huge amounts of money on the spirits. Whether you […]

The Big Wedding is aseries of loosely connected skits forced together.

Gritty urban settings lend themselves well to crime flicks and heavy dramas. Comedies are rarer. If they pop up in those settings, you can expect a different brand of humor — perhaps more profane or exaggerated. Gimme the Loot firmly establishes its roots in the Bronx and other parts of New York City. I’m split about […]

Most movies that have some basis in fact twist the history a little for more dramatic effect or simply to make a more enjoyable experience. For historical dramas, this technique tends to misinform moviegoers who don’t already know the real history. Imagine how many people will now think of Abraham Lincoln as represented in Lincoln […]

I must confess that I’m a huge magic fan. From an early age, I wanted to be a magician, and I was lucky enough to meet Harry Blackstone Jr. backstage when I was at the height of my interest and skills. Over time, I continued to see magic shows as they came through town. I […]

Anthology films win or lose based on the wide variety of the segments and the expectation that there will be some real gems in with the inevitable duds. If you watch such a film with those assumptions in mind, you probably won’t be disappointed. I’m a huge horror fan, so when I heard the title […]

Every now and then, it’s nice to have a sunny movie in which a main character is blind to the reality of his life and just sticks to his dreams. There’s nothing wrong with a little intentional avoidance of the real life to strive for the imagined life. This Felliniesque mix of dreams and reality […]

Four simple Aboriginal girls and a washed up former events director team up to create a singing sensation and learn about life in The Sapphires. The year is 1968 and, for decades, the Australian government has oppressed the indigenous native Australians forcing them to live on reserves or missions, denying them proper education and requiring […]

A neighborhood thug from a town in Scotland gets one final chance to redeem himself and decides to make the most of it when a life-preserver, in the most unlikely form, is presented to him in The Angels’ Share. Famed British director Ken Loach‘s new film won the Jury Prize at the latest Cannes Film […]

A soon-to-be father, not sure about his ability to handle parenting suddenly finds that he’s the biological father of 533 children in the French Canadian comedy, Starbuck. David Wozniak (Patrick Huard) is a 40-something screw-up. He can’t seem to do anything right in life. He owes loan sharks $80,000, can’t handle a simple meat delivery […]

Dramatic climate change suddenly threatens the existence of a solitary caveman family in the new animated film from Dreamworks—The Croods. The main plot of The Croods is pretty typical in that it takes current day aspects of everyday life and pastes them onto a Paleolithic family. The father, Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage), is obsessed […]