‘The Untouchables’ (1987) a flat telling of the Prohibition battle
Mamet Monday (Movie review): This is a nice-looking but flat telling of the Prohibition battle between Al Capone and Eliot Ness.
History
‘The Untouchables’ (1987) a flat telling of the Prohibition battle
‘Pirate Latitudes’ (2009) an adventurous slice of history
Throwback Thursday (Book review): This book pulled from Michael Crichton’s archives is an adventurous way to learn about 17th century pirating.
Peter Farrelly’s ‘Green Book’ a sweet story of friendship against backdrop of mid-century American racism (Movie review)
Writer-director Peter Farrelly smooths out the excesses of his filmmaking traits for the surprisingly mainstream and easy-to-like “Green Book” (2018), now back in theaters and also available for home viewing. It’s not as funny as […]
‘The Favourite’ critiques timeless governmental power plays, but isn’t as sharp or funny as it could be (Movie review)
A lot has been made about how horror (“Get Out” last year) and superhero (“Black Panther” this year) films are making inroads with the Oscars, but – in terms of percentage of all films released […]
Cuaron’s ‘Roma’ a partly exhilarating, mostly exhausting, very eye-opening walk in the shoes of a 1970s Mexican maid (Movie review)
With the Oscars coming up, the guilt of constantly scrolling past “Roma” (2018) on Netflix en route to “Daredevil” episodes finally got to me, and I gave the Best Picture nominee a watch. And also, my […]
Malek, music are the stars of too-formulaic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (Movie review)
Prior to seeing “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2018), I was hardly a Queen fan. The band’s popularity had faded before I was old enough to appreciate it, and growing up, their music was not something I was into. […]
‘First Man’ is one small step for space-program cinema, one giant leap for insight into Neil Armstrong (Movie review)
After his love letters to jazz — “Whiplash” (2014) and “La La Land” (2016) — a film fan wouldn’t be surprised if director Damien Chazelle’s next movie was about Louis Armstrong. But “First Man” (2018) […]
‘Dragon Teeth’ (2017) unearths early Crichton adventure
Throwback Thursday (Book review): “Dragon Teeth” isn’t really a dinosaur story, although marketers wouldn’t mind if you confused it with “Jurassic Park.”
Nick Hornby’s ‘Funny Girl’ (2014) zeroes in on 1960s British TV
Throwback Thursday (Book review): The novel zeroes in on 1960s British TV but has appeal beyond that.
‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ and 9 other movies John wouldn’t mind seeing in Summer 2018
The idea of “summer movies” is already past its time, as “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War” prove that “summer” is now year-round in the movie business. Still, old habits die hard – such as […]