10s movies
Movie Review: Trumbo
3.5 stars out of 5 Watching Trumbo, I was stylistically reminded of two other nonfiction films of recent vintage: The Imitation Game and Saving Mr. Banks. Like Imitation, Trumbo has sort of an educational-film feel to it (and minus a few f-bombs, certainly would make sense to show to high-school classes). As such, there’s a […]
Movie Review: The Peanuts Movie
3 stars out of 5 I’ve devoted an awful lot of my life to Peanuts. As long as I can remember, we had a Happiness Is a Warm Puppy book at home. And then of course I was a devoted comics-section reader, so there was Peanuts every day, and the TV specials. Also as a […]
Movie Review: Room
4.5 stars out of 5 My cousin Nancy sent me a text a couple of days ago: “Seen Room? Best movie of the year.” OK, I was thinking of going to the movies today anyway, so based on Nancy’s recommendation, Room leapfrogged over two other films at the theater that I also want to see: […]
I’ve Been Blurbed!
Remember my review of The American Side last year? Well, I’ve been blurbed in their Kickstarter campaign video! OK, sure, I’m one of few who’s had a chance to see the completed film thus far. But it is getting a theatrical release in the spring, and you can help get it onto more screens! Go […]
Movie Review: Spectre
3.5 stars out of 5 It’s a challenge for any long-running series: They have to recycle just enough of the old tropes to satisfy the fans, while also including new elements to freshen things up. You know, like when your favorite old rocker incorporated trip-hop beats. Here, the Bond crew walks that tightrope, leaning toward […]
Movie Review: Freeheld
4 stars out of 5 First things first: Yes, the movie is set in New Jersey, but no, it is not set in the town of Freehold. And the second thing: If you are unfamiliar with the case of Laurel Hester and you have an interest in justice and equality, you really need to see […]
Movie Review: Bridge of Spies
4 stars out of 5 I learned a little about captured pilot Francis Gary Powers as a schoolboy, and then I guess his name came up again after the band U2 got famous. But I can’t say I’ve given him a lot of thought since. Honestly, I didn’t even know that this movie was based […]
Movie Review: The Forbidden Room
4 stars out of 5 I’ll be honest with you — I have no idea what to make of this movie, but I still enjoyed the hell out of it. The works of Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin are certainly not for everybody, but if you’re lucky enough to be remotely on his wavelength, he rewards […]
Movie Review: The Martian
3.5 stars out of 5 I’d seen the trailer a while ago, but by the time The Martian came out, I totally forgot what it was about. Martians, maybe? I saw a picture of Matt Damon looking all astronaut-y. Maybe he befriends a martian? Maybe he *is* a shape-shifting martian? (Ooh, not a bad idea […]
Movie Review: Black Mass
3.5 stars out of 5 My man Depp in a true-life organized crime story? There was no way I was going to miss this. I knew very little of the life of James “Whitey” Bulger and had only mentioned him once before on this website. So I was looking forward to learning a thing or […]
Jack Silbert, curator