Review: “Arrival”

4 out of 5 stars. What would the people of Earth do if our planet was suddenly invaded by an alien race? It’s a question that has been asked by hundreds of science fiction films, with “Arrival” now joining the bunch. But “Arrival” isn’t an action movie. It isn’t about people fighting the aliens; in fact, the story […]

Review: “Hacksaw Ridge”

4.5 out of 5 stars. It has been ten years since Mel Gibson’s last directorial effort, “Apocalypto,” was released to mixed reviews. But controversial figure though he may be, Gibson makes a soaring comeback with his new film, “Hacksaw Ridge,” based on the true story of World War II hero Desmond Doss. In the opening of […]

Review: “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”

4 out of 5 stars. 2016 is shaping up the be the year of Harry Potter: five years after the last movie came out (and almost ten since the last book), we’ve gotten not only a play and published script of an all new story following those characters, but a new spinoff film as well. […]

Review: “Manchester by the Sea”

5 out of 5 stars. Usually there’s at least one movie every year that bowls me over with its honest and unflinching character studies, a film that I know I love even as I’m watching it for the first time. It looks like this year, director Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea” is that movie. […]

Review: “Inferno”

2 out of 5 stars. Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon novels aren’t particularly good, and neither were their film adaptations. So when I say that “Inferno”—the third film based on the third novel in Brown’s series—is better than “Angels and Demons” and about on par with “The Da Vinci Code,” that’s not a compliment. Ron Howard […]

Review: “The Birth of a Nation” (2016)

3.5 out of 5 stars. “The Birth of a Nation” is the title of D.W. Griffith’s landmark 1915 film, a movie that remains controversial thanks to its heroic portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan. Filmmaker Nate Parker applied that same title to his 2016 film about the 1831 slave uprising led by Nat Turner in […]

Review: “The Girl on the Train”

1.5 out of 5 stars. It can be difficult to erase a book’s influence from your mind when watching its film adaptation, but let’s real: some stories, no matter how great they are, just don’t work in film form. Case in point: Paula Hawkins’ bestselling thriller “The Girl on the Train.” Directed by Tate Taylor, […]

Review: “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”

“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” is exactly the sort of grotesque and bizarre story that is right up Tim Burton’s ally. So it’s beyond appropriate that he signed on to direct the adaptation of Ransom Riggs’ novel; and thanks to a host of intriguing characters and stunning visual effects, it is one of his […]

Review: “Queen of Katwe”

4.5 out of 5 stars. “Queen of Katwe” is the rare true story that avoids falling into the usual clichés through the combined work of a brilliant director, cast, and crew. The film tells the story of Phiona Mutesi (played by Madina Nalwanga), a 10-year-old girl living in the Ugandan slum of Katwe with her […]

Review: “The Magnificent Seven” (2016)

3 out of 5 stars. There is little that’s magnificent about director Antoine Fuqua’s remake of the classic 1960 John Sturges western “The Magnificent Seven” (which was in turn a remake of the 1954 Akira Kurosawa masterpiece “Seven Samuari”). In fact, there’s little about it that fits into the western genre, despite it having all […]