The entire cast returns for this big, flat, weak sequel to the highest-grossing romantic comedy in movie history. (You read right.) It’s been 14 years since the release of the original, but that doesn’t stop screenwriter and star Nia Vardalos from warping the timeline just enough so that she and …
It’s October, and one week into the never-ending taping of a fatuous, disaster-plagued New Year’s Eve song-and-dance extravaganza — the type even Dick Clark would have frowned upon — an extra seated at table 21 gets flattened by a runaway crane shot. One man’s tragedy is another man’s big break. …
A guilt-stricken schmuck (Nick Kroll) spends a lifetime playing seeing-eye dog to an insufferably handicapable blind brother (Adam Scott) until the two fall under the spell of the same emotional wreck (Jenny Slate). What starts as a ground-fine comedic broadside against those who brandish their physical disabilities with a sense …
In my youth, I briefly embraced the practice of not only seeing movies, but also reading the books upon which they were based. So in a sense, I owe Daphne du Maurier for saving me a great deal of time. Starting (as we all did) with Hitchcock, I made it …
The only person more excited about summer break than her students is Miss Lapouge (Laure Calamy), who asks the class to avert their eyes while she slips into something sparkly. The song she selects about forbidden love for the grade-school talent show is racy even by French standards, but it …
The staff of the Tides High newspaper braces for the worst when an earthquake threatens to turn their schoolhouse into an academic Atlantis. Though it runs a mere 77 minutes, entering into this first film from graphic novelist Dash Shaw may prove a tough undertaking, even for — perhaps especially …
While on their first date, Georgio (Vincent Cassel), clearly a well-heeled heel, pauses awkwardly for a moment before answering Tony’s (Emmanuelle Bercot) inquiry as to his status as a jerk. Writer-director Maïwenn could have stopped just short of tattooing the words “Caution: Asshole Enclosed” across Georgio’s forehead and doormat Tony …
Agonizing set-’em-up-to-watch-’em-die melodrama starring Nina Hoss in the titular role of Lisa, a brilliant, albeit lapsed playwright who abandoned all artistic endeavors to follow her school teacher husband’s (Jens Albinus) career path from Germany to Switzerland. When her twin brother Sven (Lars Eidinger), a celebrated stage actor, contracts a fast-growing …
Fittingly, the film opens in winter with 89-year-old Kang Gye-yeol weeping before her “Hubby’s” burial site. The remaining 85 minutes are spent in flashback waiting for the shot to bookend before the final fade. Please don’t scream “Insensitive oaf!” over what’s to follow. It’s because I have a heart that …
If ever an underwater adventure doc cried out for IMAX 3D, it’s this, but for now, let’s be thankful that we had a chance to visit this kingdom of strange and exotic animals. The emphasis here is on the vulnerability of life. Craig Foster is a South African documentary filmmaker …
My high school English teacher cautioned the class of graduating seniors never to return to the nest once they’ve taken flight. Brandon Lee could have profited from the advice. He walked away from the documentary halfway through production and his refusal to allow the right to use his likeness left …
The plot is unremittingly predictable. After being made by 9-year-old Sophie (Chloe Coleman), CIA operative JJ (Dave Bautista) is blackmailed into becoming her magic genie of sorts. When she’s not manipulating his hulkiness to her advantage, Sophie, a mini-reconnaissance expert in her own right, spends much of the running time …
Good news? Parkinson’s claims the life of Nancy’s (Andrea Riseborough) repugnantly overweening mother (Ann Dowd). (Writer/director Christina Choe‘s maiden feature begins in the 4x3 ratio; with mom out of the picture the frame expands to 16x9 to symbolically afford Nancy a little more breath-ing room.) Bad news? Nancy’s talked a …
Stephan James stars as LaMarcus James, a college quarterback wrathful over the iniquitous manner in which unpaid student-players are treated. In a last ditch effort to get through to management, James called an audible that resulted in a boycott of the big game. More than just a fact-based biopic, the …
The giant bag of a Texas prison lawnmower bursts open, giving birth to scraggly escapee Matt O’Leary. Expectations are flattened when this provocative opening sequence is immediately followed by a boner joke: Rachael Harris’ husband of 25 years wakes up with wood. When his horny spouse decides to seize the …