“Dog Days” Unleashes the Warm Fuzzies
Oh, what Richard Curtis unleashed on the world in 2003. After the wild success of “Love, Actually,” the writer/director’s multi-storied holiday rom-com inspired all kinds of imitators. Director Garry Marshall alone mined three lesser holidays in “Valentine’s Day,” “New Year’s Eve” and “Mother’s Day.” Now director Ken Marino has ditched the holiday backdrop but continued […]
I Spy a Film Filled with Problems Called “The Spy Who Dumped Me”
For as many spy films there are that come down the pike, there are almost as many spoofs. “The Spy Who Dumped Me” is the latest and its title doesn’t suggest a lot of originality considering it’s a riff on the 1977 Bond film “The Spy Who Loved Me” whose title was already parodied in […]
Disney’s “Christopher Robin” is a Charmer for All Ages
Walt Disney Pictures has done an agile job turning their vault of animated films into live-action updates. “Cinderella”, “The Jungle Book” and “Beauty and the Beast” are just three of the cartoon classics that made the transition successfully over the past decade. And while some may have assumed they were done merely for commerce or […]
A Sequel Wasn’t Necessary, but “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”
The jukebox musical “Mamma Mia!”, based on the music of Swedish pop group ABBA, proved to be a worldwide theatrical sensation. The show ran 14 years on Broadway, has been running in the West End of London since 1999, and hundreds of productions of it have been produced across the globe. It also spawned a […]
Joaquin Phoenix Excels in “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot”
Joaquin Phoenix gives one of his very best performances in “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot.” That’s saying a lot considering that the 43-year-old’s body of work is utterly exemplary. From “To Die For” to “Gladiator” to “Walk the Line” to “The Master” to “Her”, he has played celebs and nobodies, good guys […]
