THE HATE U GIVE Review – There’s a Whole Lot to Love
The Hate U Give review – Staci says it’s a movie the whole family needs to see. In The Hate U Give, teenage girl Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) shifts between two worlds—the poor, black neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy, white private school that she attends. The disconnect between her circles is shattered when…
THE OLD MAN & THE GUN Review — Robert Redford’s Lovely Last
The Old Man & the Gun Review — Robert Redford goes out in a blaze of story Imagine how you’d feel if you were a director and the iconic Robert Redford asked you to direct what could well be his last film. Speechless? Intimidated? Honored? Scared shirtless? In a casual reception on the Fox Lot…
BIGGER Review – Bigger is Better!
Bigger review – Staci says it’s a bigger and better biopic than you might expect. I will admit, I am sucker for the old rags-to-riches routine. And when it’s based on a true story, that’s even better. When I heard about Bigger, I was curious because it’s a subject I know little about: how the…
SMALLFOOT Review — 10-Year-Old Betty Likes the Layered Look
Editor’s Note: 10-year-old critic Winston Ordoña has a twin sister, Betty, who is stepping in today to write this Smallfoot review The animated Smallfoot is good if you want to have a nice time watching a movie with Yeti, slapstick, and songs in it. And if you want a deeper meaning, you’ll find that, too. A…
Hulu’s THE FIRST Review — A Video Review and Show You Won’t Want to Miss
Hulu’s The First Review — A Future Worth Watching For sci-fi fans, Star Wars ’n’ Trek remain the starry standard. Which leaves a whole lot of high tech dystopian misery and grime flicks portraying the gap between our Now and their Then. But one of the greatest sci-fi events in history is looming up at…
LIFE ITSELF Review — Tears for Fears and Jeers
Life Itself Review: A slow and sappy slog through every emotionally manipulative device known to filmkind Amazing the cred and license you’re granted when you’re intricately involved in a network mega-hit like This Is Us. Dan Fogelman, writer, director and executive producer of the aforementioned NBC drama series, has taken his slick and soapy sensibilities…
COLETTE Review — Kiera Knightly’s Timely Take On the Gifted French Author
Colette Review —17 years in the making, there’s no time like the present to tell this scintillating tale The real life Colette, Ernest Hemingway’s third wife Martha Gelhorn and the Glenn Close character in The Wife are three literary women who have much in common. All were extraordinarily talented writers who had to fight their way…
FAHRENHEIT 11/9 Review — Definitely Not Politics as Usual
Fahrenheit 11/9 Review—It’s not at all what you were expecting, no matter which way you swing In my career as a radio film critic, I’ve been very careful to keep politics out of my reviews. I’ve given live film critiques on very liberal talk radio shows, and on very conservative ones, always with the understanding…
THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS Review — Winston Says It’s Scary But Not Too Scary
The House with a Clock in Its Walls Review — Full of magic creatures and full on frights The House with a Clock in Its Walls surpassed my expectations. The trailer made me expect it to be more aimed at little kids, and be more dumbed down than it turned out to be. It was also scarier than…
CURVATURE Review – Tip-Top Time Travel on a Budget
Curvature Review — Wow! An intelligent, well-crafted, science-heavy time-travel thriller with a little romance thrown in. It’s rare for a movie-lover to find a reasonably intelligent, well-crafted, science-heavy time-travel thriller in the world of big blockbusters; it’s rarer to find one that’s modestly-budgeted and still manages to deliver on all counts. Oh, and did I…