There are many montages in THE KARATE KID: LEGENDS. So many montages. Training montages. Hanging out montages. More training montages. Montages of flashbacks with narration. Montages of montages of flashbacks. As irksome as it is, it has the virtue of symbolizing the raison-d’etre of this sequel to a sequel to a reboot of a remake.… Read More »
MEAN GIRLS: THE MUSICAL
As we are warned in the opening number of MEAN GIRLS, this is a cautionary tale of lust, greed, and corruption. What we are not warned about is the seductive power of being the eponymous Queen Bee of the high school clique hierarchy. That is the real story, though screenwriter Tina Fey, who co-stars as… Read More »
SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS
SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS is a big and bubbly adventure overflowing with wisecracks, mythical creatures and, for the good people who have taken in so many foster children, an explanation for why their house keeps getting hit by lightning. A worthy sequel to its original, it picks up with Billy Batson (Asher Angel) still… Read More »
JOE BELL
A key moment in the fact-based JOE BELL comes early one as the titular character (Mark Wahlberg), a working-class man from a small town in Oregon, is told by his adolescent son, Jadin (Reid Miller) that he is being bullied at school for being gay. It’s two revelations, and Joe doesn’t miss a beat telling… Read More »
PAPER SPIDERS
Husband and wife writing team Inon Shampanier and Natalie Shampanier wrote PAPER SPIDERS from personal experience, which gives it that extra gloss of authenticity. While it does not reflect the factual truth of the struggles they had with Natalie’s mother and her diagnosis of persecutory delusional disorder, it does convey the emotional truth of seeing… Read More »
BOYS STATE
As some of us still ponder the results of the presidential election of 2016, and view the approach of the 2020 election with trepidation, there is no more timely nor illuminating film than Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ cinema verité documentary, BOY’S STATE.
LUCE
LUCE is less a film than a political dialectic on race and class in these United States, and a brilliant, exquisitely performed one at that. Told with a deliberate, sometimes maddening ambiguity, it challenges the audience at every turn about where the truth lies, and the limits of familial loyalty. By the end, not every… Read More »
SPIDERMAN: FAR FROM HOME
We learn many things in SPIDERMAN FAR FROM HOME. We learn that not only are the Dutch polyglots, but also that they are the nicest people on earth, even when a private jet is making hash of their iconic tulip fields. We learn that saving the planet is just as important as getting that first… Read More »
GIANT LITTLE ONES
GIANT LITTLE ONES is a perceptive, intelligent examination of what happens when unexpected feelings and actions don’t have neat labels. In a time when acceptance of teenage sexuality, at least straight sexuality, has become the norm for most concerned, both parents and their sexually active kids, the question of sexual fluidity can still flummox.
AS YOU ARE — Miles Joris-Peyrafitte Interview
Mile Joris-Peyrafitte was only 23 when he made AS YOU ARE, and that was the first thing I brought up when we spoke by phone on February 22, 2017. This deeply affecting story, about three high school friends, two young men and a young woman, confronting volatile and confusing situations has a visual assurance and… Read More »