“Drinking Buddies” is proof that a movie can be enjoyable to watch even if it fails to make a resonant thematic point. It realistically shows how romances and relationships operate thanks to naturalistic, almost improvisational, performances […]
Screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber have carved out a niche by making movies in familiar genres but with a fresh perspective. “(500) Days of Summer” (2009) was a romance movie with two rare […]
In a double dose of weak sauce, Entertainment Weekly’s writers recently chose “Friends’ “ Ross and Rachel as the greatest TV couple of all time, and readers responded by choosing some random couple from “Glee” […]
As time goes by, we all forget how awful high school was, but “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (now on DVD) brings it all rushing back — and with that accomplished, it proceeds to remind […]
The 2012 college a cappella comedy “Pitch Perfect” (now on DVD) is a nice snapshot of youth culture as it features some of the expected cliques and snobbery — but not too much. When a “Star Wars”- […]
My approach to reviewing “The Carrie Diaries” (7 p.m. Central Mondays on The CW) will be different from most since I’ve never seen a single episode of “Sex and the City.” Granted, these voiceover-laden early adventures of […]
Two stylized films recently released on DVD take unconventional approaches to love stories. In both cases, the ambition slightly outstrips the execution, but both “Safety Not Guaranteed” and “Moonrise Kingdom” held my attention and are worth a rental. The […]
With the premise of a writer whose fictional dream girl magically comes to life, “Ruby Sparks” (now on DVD) seemed like a movie I would love. As it turns out, I merely liked it. Certainly, there is […]
The most entertainment-oriented aspect of my Thanksgiving trip to North Carolina was a visit to Wilmington, which to me is defined as “the town where ‘Dawson’s Creek’ was filmed.” In reality, the rich entertainment scene of Wilmington […]
“Nashville” (8 p.m. Central Wednesdays, ABC, starts Oct. 10) starts off with a good-but-not-great first episode (it’s now available on Hulu); among “going inside the industry” shows it’s considerably better than “Smash,” but not as free-wheeling […]