From the opening frame to its final musical note, When Marnie Was There evokes bittersweet recall of childhood memories; a love-letter to breezy seaside holidays, passionate yet fleeting friendships, and the anxiety of growing into an adult world. Animation studio Studio Ghibli almost seems to have selected these themes to reflect their own farewell. In…
I normally do not hold much hope for sequels that appear more than five years after the first installment (“The Two Jakes” comes immediately to mind). And although they fared alright with “Monsters, Inc.” and “Monsters University” (a prequel technicality), the same feeling came over me when I heard Pixar/Disney was releasing Finding Dory, a…
Did you know that it takes a village to raise a horse? When it comes to cultivating anything: Time, patience, tenderness, love, and care are all essential. Many of us want something and success (in whatever area that excites you) is almost always on the top of the list. To experience the potential payoffs of…
I could not decide what was the worst thing to happen to Johnny Depp in 2016: Not getting a deserved Academy Award nomination for “Black Mass,” the ugly and public divorce proceedings he is going through with his wife, Amber Heard, or starring in Alice Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to 2010’s “Alice in…
“A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.” — Jane Austen, “Pride and Prejudice,” Chapter VI Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale, “Total Recall”), the main protagonist of Whit Stillman’s (“Damsels in Distress”) period comedy Love & Friendship is determined to get what she wants…
No one has been a bigger critic of films based on video games than this author, but on the other hand, no one is as appreciative of a decent product than him, as well. And while Angry Birds (directed by Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly, both longtime graphic artists, but each making their directorial debuts)…
Ratchet & Clank. Another more than appropriate film title — well, at least the “Clank” part. I have written in the past that movies inspired by video games usually fall into two categories: Bad (“Doom,” “Super Mario Bros.,” “Tomb Raider”) or terrible: (“Mortal Kombat,” “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li,” “Max Payne”). Recently, “Hitman: Agent…
