A monk and his trio of disciples — Sandy, a giant, endearingly repulsive fish out of water; Pigsy, a porcine blunderer hiding beneath a porcelain mask; and the Monkey King, a scamp who would have served well in the winged army of Oz’s Wicked Witch – forge ahead in their …
Jeremiah “Terminator” LeRoy was a manufactured commodity, the wispy offspring of a prostitute mother that writer Laura Albert (Laura Dern) bamboozled the world into believing was real. Albert gave birth to JT by granting sotto voce phone interviews under the guise of her literary persona. Once her creation perched atop …
The last year of her life finds a strapped Judy Garland leaving her kids behind while she embarked on a six-week concert tour of Britain. Director Rupert Goold was fortunate to have for his cinematographer Gabriel Yared (Every Man for Himself, The English Patient). Yared, who clearly understands the parameters …
By far the most controversial aspect surrounding the Julia Child biodoc is its production company (CNN, not PBS). One guesses PBS shied away based solely on filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s assertion that ageists at the top were poised to put out to pasture the world’s most beloved and …
The ride offers more motivation and depth of character than the movie. Think The African Queen if Katherine Hepburn had to ward off computer generated marine life and Bogey had a 25-inch neck. With no story to speak of other than finding an arrowhead, the plot experiences more climaxes than …
The ride offers more motivation and depth of character than the movie. Think The African Queen if Katherine Hepburn had to ward off computer generated marine life and Bogey had a 25-inch neck. With no story to speak of other than finding an arrowhead, the plot experiences more climaxes than …
The ride offers more motivation and depth of character than the movie. Think The African Queen if Katherine Hepburn had to ward off computer generated marine life and Bogey had a 25-inch neck. With no story to speak of other than finding an arrowhead, the plot experiences more climaxes than …
Spielberg. Dinosaurs. What more need be said? You get what you expect. Or in blurb-ese: "It delivers the goods." But it nowhere exceeds or confounds expectations. The premise, from the Michael Crichton novel, is essentially that of Crichton's Westworld with dinosaurs in lieu of robots: amusement park gone haywire. And …
Spielberg. Dinosaurs. What more need be said? You get what you expect. Or in blurb-ese: "It delivers the goods." But it nowhere exceeds or confounds expectations. The premise, from the Michael Crichton novel, is essentially that of Crichton's Westworld with dinosaurs in lieu of robots: amusement park gone haywire. And …
Spielberg. Dinosaurs. What more need be said? You get what you expect. Or in blurb-ese: "It delivers the goods." But it nowhere exceeds or confounds expectations. The premise, from the Michael Crichton novel, is essentially that of Crichton's Westworld with dinosaurs in lieu of robots: amusement park gone haywire. And …
An Iranian action film? With explosions and cops trying to bring down drug lords, just like in their big-budget American counterparts? Iranian filmmakers are known for turning a 90-minute car ride into visual ecstasy. This should be a snap! We open on a foot chase — no pounding music needed …
Alabama logging worker Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx) looks skyward towards the gap left by a recently felled tree, never dreaming of the hole in his life this foreshadowing shot would come to represent. McMillian fit the M.O. of a scapegoat, and he was wrongfully sentenced to death for killing Ronda …
With its opening splash of decidedly Disney water rippling in the wake of an artist’s paintbrush, The Prophet boldly announces its intentions: director Roger Allers (The Lion King) aims to out-Disney Disney on their own turf. Given the animation giant’s recent slate of non-Pixar related big-screen babysitters, this sumptuous, old …
Those wanting to turn their bathtub into a craft sake brewery need look no further. Historians need not apply. Given the rich cultural lineage associated with sake, one would rightfully expect a documentary on the subject to devote a healthy portion of its running time to exploring the history of …
There are those whose knowledge of Kaye Ballard is limited to the caricatured screaming Italian she playing opposite demure Eve Arden on TV’s The Mothers-In-Law. Ballard’s ball-shaped eyes, radiating angst from beneath a perfectly manicured pageboy, clung for dear life as the stirred-up signora stormed the stage with half-gnawed index …