DCEU lightens up with funny ‘Shazam!’
Movie review: “Shazam!” is a funny and family-friendly addition to the DC Extended Universe.
Family Drama
DCEU lightens up with funny ‘Shazam!’
Larson grabs attention in the small-scale ‘Room’ (2015)
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Before she was Captain Marvel, Brie Larson grabbed attention on a smaller scale.
Despite being from her point of view, ‘Summer ’03’ keeps teen’s world at a timid distance (Movie review)
“Summer ’03” (2018) had the misfortune of coming out the same year as “Eighth Grade,” which showed new blood can be wrung from the stone of coming-of-age dramedies. Stacked against other entries in the genre […]
Japanese film ‘Shoplifters’ is a heartfelt exploration of a makeshift family (Movie review)
When I throw around the phrase “makeshift family” in reviews, I’m usually talking about tight groups of friends. But the Japanese film “Shoplifters” (2018) shows us a more literal makeshift family. It’s about six societal castoffs […]
First episode impressions: ‘This Is Us’ Season 3 (TV review)
My TV-watching buddy Shaune says of “This Is Us”: “Even when it’s happy, it’s sad.” That contradictory statement perfectly sums up TV’s most emotionally draining show, which is up to its usual tricks in this […]
First episode impressions: ‘Manifest’ (TV review)
“Manifest” (10 p.m. Eastern Mondays on NBC) isn’t quite the “What does it all mean?” “Lost”-style mystery I thought it would be. Then again, it’s not exactly original, either. It’s just that the TV shows […]
This year’s ‘Tully’ isn’t the first great film to go by that name (Movie review)
The Diablo Cody/Jason Reitman “Tully” – now available for home viewing – eventually won me over by being a quality film, but I was initially peeved that it uses the same title as one of […]
‘Like Father’ gets by on the charms of Kristen Bell, Kelsey Grammer (Movie review)
It’s easy to see why “Like Father” went straight to Netflix (the modern equivalent of straight-to-video) rather than getting a theatrical release, but fans of Kristen Bell and/or Kelsey Grammer will still find this light […]
‘Tully’ an engrossing film about … sleep deprivation … I think (Movie review)
From “Juno” (2008) to “Young Adult” (2011) to this year’s “Tully,” writer Diablo Cody – with Jason Reitman directing – has put together a spiritual trilogy of films about transitional periods in life, and they […]
‘Eighth Grade’ goes inside the heart and mind of an outsider many of us can relate to (Movie review)
Ah, a tale of a kid who feels like an outsider. It’s not exactly untapped territory for a movie, yet comedian Bo Burnham, in his assured debut as a writer-director, approaches this material with tones […]