Screen
Grown up but not good
Grown Ups is a sure thing — a film you think you’ve seen before, and probably saw somewhere a second time, so why not another? Actors, particularly stage actors in longrunning plays, strive for “the illusion of the first time.” High-concept comedies like Grown Ups ...
Long Day’s Journey Into Night
When Avatar shattered box-office records in 2009, many
attributed the movie’s success to 3D’s profitability. And not just because
viewers were intrigued, but because tickets cost...
Instagrim: ‘Celeste and Jesse Forever’ is a hipster love tragedy
The degree to which you will enjoy Celeste and Jesse Forever solely depends on how ensorcelled you are by the luminous Rashida Jones. If you love her, this movie is a moderately effective slice-of-life rom-com-dram. If you think she’s just OK (or worse), you’re left ...
A winning ticket
It`s hard out there for a kid from the projects who scores a $370 million lottery payoff, but must wait for the claim office to reopen (infernal federal holiday!). Suddenly he is pursued by “a premature crack-baby felon” straight out of prison and willing — eager, ...
Overdue disaster
Writer-director Todd Phillips understands comedy and comedic structure. He’s no stranger to the possibilities of the cinematic road trip...
The ship so nice they sank it twice
The RMS Titanic has resurfaced from the icy depths of the Atlantic only to be subjected to a second dunking, this time with a 3-D upcharge, under the stewardship of Capt. James Cameron, master and commander...
‘Doctor Strange’ like
A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad thought occurred to me about halfway through Doctor Strange. You guys, what if Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t a very...
Hell is your family
Toni Collette spends nearly the entirety of Hereditary playing an unopposed game of Twister using only her facial features. The film is understandably being...
An animated yawn
Earlier this year Despicable Me proved it: A story about a hapless villain, humanized, is good for a few laughs and a half-billion dollars worldwide. That figure would very likely be A-OK with the makers of the new DreamWorks animated feature Megamind, also about a ...
Ladies might
Maybe it was the way Kate McKinnon’s hyperbolic Australian accent hilariously tortured the word “pizza” until it simultaneously had between one and seven syllables....
Taking a scenic sociopath
Oftentimes, films determined to be quirky and fun actually come off as little more than overconfident jackassery, a condition now known as Baby Driver-itis....
