Review: “Eighth Grade”

5 out of 5 stars. “Eighth Grade” is the story of an average girl’s last week of middle school. But there’s nothing average about this film, which is the debut feature from writer/director Bo Burnham. Rather than a quirky and sugar-coated teen comedy, it’s about as honest and unflinching as a portrayal of middle school […]

Review: “Mission: Impossible- Fallout”

4.5 out of 5 stars. The “Mission: Impossible” film franchise has a lot in common with its leading man, Tom Cruise. They’re both relentless, and never seem to know when to stop or how to slow down. But they also age gracefully while managing to pull out some new tricks to impress audiences. And while […]

Review: “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”

3 out of 5 stars. “Mamma Mia!” is the sort of musical that embodies escapism. The story of a daughter trying to identify her father before her wedding day is set on the gorgeous Greek island Kalokairi, far from the troubles of reality, and is filled with peppy songs by ABBA. It’s rather bizarre, even […]

Review: “Skyscraper”

2.5 out of 5 stars. “Skyscraper” is a take on “Die Hard” that is exactly what you’d think it is, and at the same time, doesn’t deliver enough. It’s diverting for a couple of hours, sure, but everything about it is mediocre, from the lazy title to the characters to the story to even the […]

Review: “Sorry to Bother You”

4.5 out of 5 stars. Sorry to bother you, but you really need to see writer/director Boots Riley’s debut feature film. Set in a dystopian version of Oakland, California, the black comedy “Sorry to Bother You” is a rich satire that offers a gold mine of commentary on topics ranging from race to capitalism, drawing […]

Review: “Ant-Man and the Wasp”

3.5 out of 5 stars. “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” the sequel to what is likely the most low-key of all the Marvel films, comes to theaters less than three months after the release of the huge and highly-anticipated “Avengers: Infinity War.” The latter film was high-stakes and emotionally draining, which is part of the reason […]

Review: “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”

3 out of 5 stars. The dinosaurs are out of the park and into the great big world, as “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” the sequel to the 2015 reboot of the “Jurassic Park” series, starts to live up to that title. The film picks up three years after the destruction of the park in “Jurassic […]

Review: “Game Night”

3 out of 5 stars. We all know at least one of those people: the people who are freakishly good at trivia, who take even the silliest of board games way too seriously, and who are way too competitive at Monopoly. They are the people who love game night, but what if those people were […]

Review: “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

4.5 out of 5 stars. It’s wonderful to find out that a person you love and admire the way you see them on TV or in a movie is just that way in real life. Such is the case with Fred Rogers, the creator and host of the children’s series “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” who believed […]

Review: “The Incredibles 2”

4 out of 5 stars. Pixar’s “The Incredibles” was released 14 years ago. Think about that. Fourteen years. The long-awaited sequel to the animated film that follows a family of superheroes is finally in theaters, and it picks up at the exact moment that its predecessor left off, the familiar characters springing into action as […]