The Ultimate Music Mystery Movie Night — Miss American Pie
I’m all about low maintenance/high fun fun at home. See how we staged the best music mystery movie night with The Day the Music Died — American Pie. The music: American Pie The mystery: What do the lyrics really mean? The Movie: The Day the Music Died: American Pie One of the great mysteries that’s…
THE GRAY MAN Review — Colorful, Explosive, Riveting
Lisa Johnson Mandell’s The Gray Man review says that with a perfect cast and some of today’s best directors, this riveting action film can’t help get your motor running. You take Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas and Regé-Jean Page, team them up with the writing/directing/producing Russo Brothers, and how can you possibly go…
NOPE Review — Confusing and Frustrating But at Times Entertaining
Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Nope review says writer/director/producer Jordan Peele’s latest fails to deliver on the promise of Get Out. Nope starts out with one of the most chilling and understated sequences in recent memory: Something has gone very wrong on the living room set of an 80’s sitcom. Lamps and furniture are broken, and a…
TAKE THE NIGHT Review: It’s All Fun And Games Until Someone Loses Their Cryptocurrency
Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Take the Night review says it’s a crypto bro thriller that shows promise for its first-time director, Seth McTigue. Take the Night, the feature film debut from writer/director/actor Seth McTigue, opens with quick, urgent shots of masked criminals preparing for some kind of nefarious job, intercut with a young, high-level professional alone…
THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER Review: Boom! The Gods are Restless
Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Thor: Love and Thunder review says that with non-stop action and quips plus loads of fabulous cameos, fans could be overwhelmed—in a good way. Thor: Love and Thunder, the Norse god’s fourth solo film, is what I like to call a kitchen sink movie— it’s one where they they throw in everything, including the……
GOOD LUCK TO YOU LEO GRANDE Review — DREAMING WALLS: INSIDE THE CHELSEA HOTEL Review
Good Luck to You Leo Grande review — Female midlife crisis exposed. Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel review — An etherial doc about an old New York classic. Good Luck to You Leo Grande Review Good Luck to You Leo Grande is alternately riveting, amusing and hard to watch. Never before have we seen…
MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU Review — A Little Something Yellow for Everyone
Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Minions: The Rise of Gru review says that this origin story set in the ’70’s has something for everyone of every age. How can anyone not love the Minions? With the exception of one tightly wound acquaintance who watched the trailer for Minions: The Rise of Gru and dismissed it for being…
ELVIS Review — A Hunka Hunka Burning Love
Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Elvis review says director Baz Luhrmann delivers a kaleidoscopic musical artist biopic that sets the genre on its ear. Could tragic icon of fabulousness Elvis Presley be in any better hands than those of writer/director/producer Baz Luhrmann, another icon of fabulousness in his own right? I think not. The king of lush,…
LIGHTYEAR Review — Surprisingly, a Rare Pixar Misfire
Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Lightyear review says that while it doesn’t quite lift off the way other Pixar films do, it’s slow, harmless fun. You know how you watch Toy Story or its sequels, and there are moments of emotion so moving that tears come to your eyes, and you find yourself both embarrassed and…
PEACE BY CHOCOLATE Review — Sweet Success!
Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Peace by Chocolate review says it’s a heartwarming and thought-provoking treat. Peace by Chocolate is based on the true success story of a confection shop started by Syrian refugees in Canada and whose courage and fortitude touched the entire world. Though presented as a scripted, well-acted feature, there is news footage of…
