An anti-exploitation biopic that asks audiences to spend two hours waiting for Rebecca Hall to re-create the moment when Sarasota newscaster Christine Chubbuck famously blew her brains out on the 10 o’clock news. You’ll need a shield to help deflect all the irony director Antonio Campos and screenwriter Craig Shilowich …
The story is so simple, so glaringly obvious and filled with delight, that it’s a wonder no one thought of it until this day: a pair of siblings surreptitiously hop aboard Santa’s sleigh for the ride of a lifetime. Movie over Edmund “Miracle on 34th St.” Gwenn, there’s a new …
If the original dropped like a diamond in the Christmas stocking, this unavoidable sequel lands like a lump of coal. Max Lieberman, who did such a splendid job scripting the original, appears to have crumbled under the weight of Chris Columbus’ (Home Alone I & II, Mrs. Doubtfire) desire to …
If ever there was a case to sue a movie studio for false advertising, it’s 1944’s Christmas Holiday. Cute and perky songstress Deanna Durbin stars opposite hoofer Gene Kelly’s Cheshire grin. But instead of a light, frothy studio musical, audiences were treated to a rare holiday noir. Dave Kehr referred …
A Christmas Memory, the 1966 Emmy Award–winning short film originally made for ABC, joined two other Capote tele-adaptations to form the theatrical release, Trilogy (1969). Capote wrote — and, in the case of A Christmas Memory, narrated — the screenplays, and Frank Perry (Diary of a Mad Housewife, Rancho Deluxe) …
After decades of dormancy — and wanting very much to reunite with his childhood pal — Winnie the Pooh finally figures out behind which tree door stands his all-grown-up childhood pal, Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor, proving that he has what it takes to be live-action Disney’s newest alternative to Dean …
Chuck Wepner first became a semi-household name as the white guy given a title shot at Muhammad Ali. That was followed by well-publicized bouts with Andre the Giant, Sylvester Stallone, a wrestling bear, and a coke habit. In each case, Chuck’s ticket to fame was his willingness to play the …
The trailer for The Circle jerked audiences in the direction of a paranoid thriller of universal proportion, but all director James Ponsoldt (Smashed, The Spectacular Now) could make good on was a wormhole of narcissism down which he could make his latest film spiral. Mae (Emma Watson) won the lottery …
Another invisibly etched documentary — this one clocking in at a platter-bowing 272 minutes — in which the king of all non-fiction filmmakers, Frederick Wiseman, once again proves himself worthy of the title. (The antithesis of the celebrity documentarian, Wiseman never once crosses paths with the camera.) This time around, …
Those living under the Damoclean sword of at-will employment will no doubt find film-buyer Jeon Manhee’s (Kim Min-hee) dismissal without cause easier to accept than her request for a parting selfie with her boss. But that’s nothing compared to the bafflement audiences will experience when confronted with the subsequent story’s …
For whatever reason — in Karen’s (Otmara Marrero) mind, the selection is limitless — she decides to best cure for a bad breakup is a drive from SoCal to in Florence, Oregon and the vacation home of her ex, a celebrated artist known only as D. (Sonya Walger). A stroll …
A purple dinosaur by any other name, this animated PBS staple is given a big screen live action/CGI makeover to mixed results. Darby Camp (Benji, The Christmas Chronicles 1 & 2) stars as the easily teased transplant who earns her classmates respect not so much for being the person she …
An intelligent, paranoid suspense thriller with zero bullets fired, zero special effects, two sizzling romantic leads who don’t kiss, and the good sense to pack a tripod! Summer’s over. Adults are once again free to move about the multiplex. After a London bombing, a Turkish suspect (Denis Moschitto), the only …
Closed Curtain arrives with more than its share of baggage. Do yourself a favor and spend a few moments reading up on filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s plight before taking in his movie. The Iranian government has placed the master director under house arrest for six years — with an additional 20-year …