Review: “Dolemite Is My Name”

5 out of 5 stars. “Critics don’t know nothing. I don’t even know why they come out in the first place. They don’t even like to have fun. Nobody cares what the critics say.” Okay, so maybe this line delivered by Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore toward the end of “Dolemite Is My Name” […]

Review: “Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw”

2.5 out of 5 stars. There’s at least one thing that can be said about “Hobbs & Shaw”: it knows exactly what it is, and doesn’t try to do anything more than that. At the same time, this spinoff of the “Fast and Furious” franchise proves that there is little left for this series to […]

Review: “The Lion King” (2019)

2 out of 5 stars. It only takes a few minutes to realize that something with “The Lion King”—a remake of the 1994 Disney animated classic directed by Jon Favreau—is vastly wrong. The new movie utilizes cutting edge technology to create photorealistic animal characters, and as beautiful as they look, they serve as a masterclass […]

Review: “The Dead Don’t Die”

3 out of 5 stars. From the get-go, police officer Ronnie Peterson (played by Adam Driver), tells his colleagues—and the audience—that this story is going to end badly. The journey to that ending, however, is a light-hearted romp through the zombie apocalypse, told with writer and director Jim Jarmusch’s signature brand of deadpan humor, with […]

Review: “Toy Story 4”

3.5 out of 5 stars. “Toy Story 3” brought Pixar’s “Toy Story” franchise to a perfect conclusion. The films are important for many reasons. They’re some of the best animated movies ever made, boasting stories that are entertaining, clever, and heartfelt, told by richly drawn characters; in fact, it wouldn’t be too crazy to say […]

Review: “Late Night”

3.5 out of 5 stars. In “Late Night,” Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling both play women who defy those who underestimate. The film may be a workplace comedy—and a very funny one at that—but it has an important and timely message that reaches far deeper. The movie is directed by Nisha Ganatra from a script […]

Review: “Men in Black: International”

2 out of 5 stars. “Men in Black: International” is the latest in a long list of sequels to franchises that no one asked for, but that we got anyway. As unnecessary as the film is, it did have a few things going for it—and it managed to squander them all, resulting in an action […]

Review: “The Secret Life of Pets 2”

2.5 out of 5 stars. Dog photos and cat videos are some of the most popular content on the internet, so it would be difficult for a movie that’s essentially based around bringing these things to life to be unsuccessful. Illumination’s animated feature “The Secret Life of Pets 2” picks up sometime after the events […]

Review: “Dark Phoenix”

2 out of 5 stars. 2019 is the year that many iconic pop culture franchises are coming to a conclusion. But while 20th Century Fox’s live-action “X-Men” series has been around for longer than most of them—almost 20 years, in fact—it feels less like a bittersweet farewell and more like a sigh of relief to […]

Review: “Rocketman”

3.5 out of 5 stars. Biographical movies always play fast and loose with the facts, often shaping and twisting them to fashion a more cinematic story. “Rocketman,” which tells the story of the life and career of musician Elton John, is no exception. But “Rocketman,” directed by Dexter Fletcher (who, incidentally, took over directing duties […]