I have been beyond bored with movies this season. THOR still dominates the box office and is playing on 3 screens at my local multiplex. Just not excited about the god of thunder or comedy sequels: DADDY'S HOME 2 (second place at the box office) or A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS both featuring intergenerational hi-jinks at [...]
A few more SCREEN GRABS in the dog days of summer--and none of the following are dogs: DUNKIRK: If you haven't already, see this masterful and intimate experience of the grueling WWII battle when the Nazis had 400,000 Allied troops-- British, French, and Belgian--trapped on the beach at Dunkirk but they never surrendered; [...]
Happy summer one and all! A pro-LONG-ed bout of pneumonia and a vacation abroad has kept me away from my website for awhile-- but I'm back up to speed with a slew of movies over the next few days and some "must-see" theater to recommend. Today I begin with the WOODS HOLE FILM FESTIVAL about [...]
I recently took part in Women Writer's week at RogerEbert.com and revisited BABY BOOM starring Diane Keaton--30 years later. I was thrilled to join all of the site's women reviewers highlighted that week, and once again became acutely aware of how few women's critical voices are heard in the world. The field of movie and theater criticism remains, like so many fields, [...]
If you're still looking for that perfect gift for someone you love who loves the arts, I am passing along this 2016 Holiday Gift Guide, itself a gift from WBUR's The ARTery writers-- and I am proud to be one! This annual gift guide has several stockings full of suggestions in every discipline [...]
Hold onto your hats-- and your eardrums-- and prepare to laugh yourself silly!! Meryl Streep does it again, this time in a bravura "comedia-tura" performance as a real life "coloratura-challenged" heiress with a passion for grand opera, but no talent: FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS. Stephen Frears once again turns his attention to a strong female character [...]
The Woods Hole Film Festival kicks off its 25th anniversary season on July 30 and not a moment too soon. In one of the worst summer movie seasons in recent memory, this 8-day festival (July 30-August 6) on Cape Cod has come to the rescue, bigger and better than ever! Over 130 films will be shown representing more than [...]
Who ya gonna call? Well in 2016 it's the all-female GHOSTBUSTERS, a re-envisioning, if you will (and many wouldn't), of the 1984 cult classic played by a fabulous foursome: Melissa McCarthy, and SNL's Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. This all woman cast--plus one token pretty boy hired as a receptionist for his looks and awkward dance moves (a riotous Chris [...]
This summer at the movies sucks. I normally despise that expression but it accurately describes the vacuum that is this summer's movie season. Underwhelming fare is now playing on mainstream screens everywhere, and I am searching like crazy for things I want to see. Here's what I don't want to see: --NEWSCASTERS playing themselves on the big screen and then complaining about [...]
Get ready for the first great entertainment at the movies this summer which trades comic book action heroes for the lords of legerdemain known as The Four Horsemen: NOW YOU SEE ME 2! I couldn't take my eyes off this movie which captures the magic of, well, magic! This elaborately tricky plot unfurled itself in double time, criss-crossing the globe while filling every inch [...]
