In recent years, Disney has won some (‘Frozen’, ‘Encanto’) and lost some (‘Strange World’, ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’). Put ‘Wish’ somewhere in the middle—a fantastically-animated but ultimately forgettable offering that borrows from every fairy tale you’ve ever heard without giving us much new to be awed by. Instead, we get […]
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Maestro
Bradley Cooper co-wrote, directed, and stars in this look at the life of the great composer Leonard Bernstein, particularly his relationship with wife Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan). While it does little to examine (or educate us about) Bernstein’s immeasurable cultural impact—‘West Side Story’, for example, is barely mentioned in passing—it […]
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Leave the World Behind
Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke star as a married couple taking the family on vacation to a rental on Long Island in the latest from director Sam Esmail (TV’s ‘Mr. Robot’), which takes a straightforward premise and turns it on its head to become a gripping apocalyptic film. Following a […]
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Leo
Adam Sandler’s latest Netflix offering is a surprisingly cute and endearing animated musical about, of all things, classroom pets. Sandler voices the titular lizard, and Bill Burr co-stars as a cranky turtle, and when the fifth graders in Ms. Malkin’s class discover that the animals can talk (and actually have […]
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EXmas
Leighton Meester and Robbie Amell headline this fairly forgettable holiday flick as an ex-couple; she called off their engagement because he spent more time working on work than their relationship. The thing is, she’s such a hit with his family that they’ve kept her in their life, even inviting her […]
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Next Goal Wins
The true story of the woeful American Samoa soccer team is delightfully brought to the screen by the always-reliable Taika Waititi (who also co-wrote the screenplay). Michael Fassbender stars as Thomas Rongen, the outcast coach who reluctantly agrees to take the team under his wing to help them score their […]
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Saltburn
Writer-director Emerald Fennell’s latest is an extremely graphic, lasciviously obscene, and squirm-inducing class commentary that may either have you running out of the room or (less likely) praising Fennell for the unadulterated, brazen way she tackles her chosen subjects. As with 2020’s phenomenal ‘Promising Young Woman’, she is in her […]
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May December
The latest from director Todd Haynes (‘Carol’, ‘Far From Heaven’) is a dark and twisted bit of mind-bendy creepiness that provides stars Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore with plenty of room to strut their best-in-the-business stuff. Moore is Gracie, a woman (based on Mary Kay Letourneau) who had an affair […]
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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Set 64 years before the events of ‘The Hunger Games’ this prequel introduces us to a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), a privileged (or so he makes the world believe) young man forced to mentor a ragamuffin tribute (Rachel Zegler) in the 10th edition of the morbid festivities. Directed by […]
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