Review: “Pink Skies Ahead”

Winona worries a lot. She’s a writer who, despite showing some promise, has dropped out of college and moved back in with her parents. She works at her dad’s business. She can’t pass her driver’s test. She parties with her friends and gorges on candy and freezes from the convenience store. When Winona goes to […]

TCM Film Festival Recap

I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend than at the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival. But unlike the previous festivals, which have been occurring in Hollywood annually since 2010, this fest was virtual, with anyone who had access to TCM or HBO Max able to enjoy its offerings. Last year’s festival, […]

Streaming Movies Reviews: April, Part 2

Happy Star Wars Day! I hope you all are having a great May the Fourth. I have a few more mini reviews today of some films that just hit streaming services last Friday. “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” is a hilarious animated movie from the “Into the Spider-Verse” team that you won’t want to miss […]

Streaming Movie Reviews: April, Part 1

Happy May! I don’t know about you guys, but I’m so excited to return to the movie theater at the end of this month for the first time in over a year (especially since I’ll be fully vaccinated by then). In the meantime, I have some mini reviews of some movies released on streaming services […]

Review: “Mortal Kombat” (2021)

I knew before I even started to watch “Mortal Kombat” that it was not made for me. I have only a cursory familiarity with the video games it is based on, and have not seen the 90s movies that it is a reboot of (1997’s “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” was in particular a critical and commercial […]

Cinema Classics: “Mrs. Miniver” (1942)

Winston Churchill once claimed that the film “Mrs. Miniver” did more for the war effort than a “flotilla of destroyers.” It is certainly a wonderful film as well as a bit of a historical relic, an American-made movie giving a glimpse into what the citizens of Great Britain were up against, right before the U.S. […]

Cinema Classics: “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947)

“Gentlemen’s Agreement” is not a favorite of mine. At times, it drags. Few of the characters are very likeable. Even director Elia Kazan later said that he didn’t care for this movie, despite winning an Oscar for it—the relationships, he believed, felt forced, and the film overall lacked passion. That much is true, but “Gentleman’s […]

Cinema Classics: “La Strada” (1954)

Italian director Federico Fellini considered “La Strada” (“The Road”) to be his most personal film. The story of two people who stay together without really knowing why came to him first in the form of vague, somber feelings, with the lead female character ultimately being inspired by his wife Giulietta Masina. Masina ending up playing that […]

Cinema Classics: “Roman Holiday” (1953)

William Wyler’s “Roman Holiday” is more than a romantic comedy; to watch it is to see a real-life fairytale unfold onscreen. The Cinderella-like plot involves Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn), the ruler of an unknown country, who embarks on a European tour. While in Rome, stifled by her sheltered life, Ann escapes the embassy for one […]

Cinema Classics: “Gigi” (1958)

From the advent of talking pictures, MGM Studios became known for producing lavish musicals. Their credits include such landmark films as “The Wizard of Oz”, “Singin’ in the Rain”, and “Gigi”, the latter being the one that many consider the last great MGM musical. “Gigi” is so French it almost parodies the lavish culture and people […]