Review: “Mary Queen of Scots”

2.5 out of 5 stars In “Mary Queen of Scots,” women rule. It’s the year 1561, and Elizabeth I (played by Margot Robbie) is the Queen of England. Her first cousin Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan) returns to Scotland and reclaims her throne after the death of her husband, the King of France. They both have […]

Review: “Vice”

2.5 out of 5 stars. Dick Cheney is widely considered the most powerful Vice President of all time. But he had a lengthy political career prior to becoming VP to President George W. Bush in 2000 that shaped his ideals as he rose through the ranks of Washington. But according to “Vice,” a partly biographical, […]

Review: “Aquaman”

3.5 out of 5 stars. We all know that Warner Brothers’ DC cinematic universe hasn’t been all that successful thus far, and that the vast majority of the films in the series have had both visually and thematically dark tones. So it was an interesting choice for the studio to go with Aquaman—traditionally a very […]

Review: “Bumblebee”

4 out of 5 stars. I never thought I’d willingly watch another “Transformers” movie, much less enjoy it. But that’s exactly what happened with “Bumblebee,” an attempt to reset the franchise based on the popular 80s toy line by bringing the story back to the beginning. While it has all the action and special effects […]

Review: “Roma”

5 out of 5 stars. Alfonso Cuarón has had a hand in a number of epic films over the years, from the dystopian movie “Children of Men” to the third “Harry Potter” film to his last movie, 2013’s space thriller “Gravity.” But it’s the intimate and deeply personal “Roma” that is the director’s greatest achievement […]

Review: “Mary Poppins Returns”

3.5 out of 5 stars. Walt Disney’s 1964 film “Mary Poppins” is hugely beloved and widely regarded as the studio’s greatest live-action movie. So despite the fact that author P.L. Travers wrote multiple stories about the magical nanny, it’s still a tall order for Disney to make a sequel to the classic film over 50 […]

Review: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”

5 out of 5 stars. I never thought I’d describe a Spider-Man movie as truly refreshing—Sony’s big live-action superhero franchise has been rebooted so many times in recent years it’s become a joke in and of itself. But refreshing, as well as “innovative” and “original,” are exactly the words to describe “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” […]

Review: “The Favourite”

3.5 out of 5 stars. Everything about “The Favourite” defies expectations, which really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise for a film from Yorgos Lanthimos, the director behind such bizarre works as 2015’s “The Lobster” and 2017’s “The Killing of a Sacred Deer.” It looks like a pretty period piece set in the royal […]

Review: “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

4.5 out of 5 stars. A great bookstore is heaven to readers. I’m not talking about the retail chains, by the small, local shops that have been around for years and feel old and lived in, that are operated and visited by those with a real passion for the written word. No film seems to […]

Review: “Creed II”

4.5 out of 5 stars. One of the things that made “Creed” such a success is that it was a simple but heartfelt underdog story, not unlike the original “Rocky” film that kicked off the franchise. “Creed II” takes a slightly different approach, in that Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the son of boxer Apollo […]