“A day once dawned, and it was beautiful. A day once dawned from the ground. Then the night she fell . . . The night she fell all around” — From the Morning, Nick Drake Directed by Belgian director Felix Van Groeningen (“Belgica”) and adapted for the screen by Luke Davies (“Lion”), Beautiful Boy is…
It’s probably safe to say, those who remember the explosive tennis court confrontation between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs were either exhilarated or exhausted by the gender-clashing sporting event dubbed the “battle of the sexes.” The mega-match, after all, forced the nation to take sides in defense of their gender pride. But what was…
It’s a well-known fact that most third installments of film franchises do not rise to the level of the first (and often the second). Now, these examples are subjective, of course, but I present as evidence the following pictures: “Rocky III,” “Superman III,” “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the…
When everything in your life is looking rosy, there is always someone who will tell you that your happiness is on shaky ground. Though most of the time these naysayers will not profit from your misfortune, such is not the case in The Big Short, Adam McKay’s (“Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”) hard-hitting comedy/drama about…
I don’t mind telling you, when I hear the words, “spin-off,” regarding film or television, I don’t get the best of feelings. The history of the term (which I will not go into here) conjures up as many negative thoughts as does the phrase, “third movie in a film franchise series.” Still, being the profession…
Foxcatcher, based on the real-life events surrounding the relationship between billionaire John E. du Pont and Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz, is a plodding, tone-deaf snoozer. The cast tries very hard to make things work, sometimes too hard. Even worse, all that made the true story so weirdly compelling in the first place is lost in…
As the sly penguins have outgrown their “Madagascar” roots so have the lovable minions of “Despicable Me.” Taking place before the days of Gru (although it may end with his being involved), the Twinkie-shaped, mumbling servants are getting their own movie aptly titled Minions to go on a comical adventure to search for an evil…
