Lisa's List of Must Miss Movies — Long Hours You'll Never Get Back
Lisa Johnson Mandell reveals her choices for Must Miss Movies — four frustrating, forgettable films that you might otherwise be tricked into seeing. Now that I’ve posted my Must See Movies, it’s time to warn you about the films that highly disappointed me, and will likely disappoint you as well. Many of them are getting major awards…
Guys Guide to Films — James Mandell's Annual Holiday Round-Up
Every year my lovely and talented husband shares his take on the films that get a lot of buzz during awards season. Even though his reviews don’t necessarily agree with mine, his Guys Guide to Films ends up getting insane traffic, so who am I do deprive him of bandwidth? Guys Guide to Films — James Mandell’s Annual Holiday…
THE Perfect Little Black Dress — See the Amazing Poppet on Four Generations!
Four generations of my family agree: The Poppet is the perfect little black dress for all occasions I realize that just about every day someone new claims to have found the perfect little black dress, but search no further — I have found one that is truly unrivaled. Not only does it pack away in…
ROGUE ONE Review — COLLATERAL BEAUTY Review — Opposite Films That Have One Thing In Common
The reason I’ve chosen to combine the Rogue One and the Collateral Beauty review is simple: You’ll either see them or you won’t, regardless of what critics say. And although they are about as different as two films can be, they do have one thing in common: Both have remarkable ensemble casts. Rogue One Review — This is probably…
Will THIS IS US Win Best Drama Series? Will LALA LAND Win Best Film? Watch the CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS Sunday to Find Out
Is anyone else as crazy as I am over This is Us and LaLa Land? We’ll find out whether my critic colleagues are or not on Sunday, at the 22nd Annual Critics’ Choice Awards, which air December 11 at 8PM ET/ 5PM PT. I’ve got my Halston Heritage black and white penguin gown (it’s sexier than it sounds) all set…
Help Me Decide on My 2016 Critics Choice Awards Votes — Movies
Here are the film nominees for the 2016 Critics Choice Awards. Lobbying is welcome! The film nominations are out for the 2016 Critics Choice Awards, and I have to admit it’s a fine list, although everyone I nominated didn’t make the cut. Read the the lists below, and feel free to weigh in on how I…
MOANA Review — The Perfect Family Vacation
MOANA Review by Lisa Johnson Mandell @HomeInHollywood My family members, ages one through 68, were among the millions who saw Moana over Thanksgiving vacation. More important than what I thought of it as a critic is how the kids in our party responded to it. Suffice it to say that they were rapturous. More than…
FANTASTIC BEASTS Review — J.K. Rowling Goes All Marvel on Us
Fantastic Beasts Review by Lisa Johnson Mandell Harry Potter fans are going to curse me for my bah-humbug attitude about this film, but frankly, I was bored. The story was predictable, the palette was mostly a dull gray, Eddie Redmayne as Fantastic Beast expert Newt Scamander mostly mumbled, and an excessive amount of screen time…
ARRIVAL Review – Hauntingly Cerebal, It Will Make You Think and Think Again
ARRIVAL Review by James Mandell @cerealatomic I’m a sci-fi lover, and discovered author Ted Chiang about two years ago. He wrote “Story of Your Life” in his book of the same title, a collection of short stories that were the most quietly riveting and creative I’d ever read. The movie is an account of an…
HACKSAW RIDGE Review– A Good Old Fashioned WWII Movie
Hacksaw Ridge Review by Lisa Johnson Mandell — C’mon, Mel! Why the R rating? Hacksaw Ridge is based on the true story of Desmond Doss, a Seventh Day Adventist and conscientious objector who felt it was his moral obligation to serve in WWII. He became a medic, and while he refused to carry a gun,…
