Tinseltown Talks column: After tying the knot at 90, ‘Tinker Bell’ flies East
What could convince a 90-year-old actress - once a model for Disney animators creating the Tinker Bell character of 1953’s “Peter Pan” - to abandon her West Coast home of nine decades and fly off to a...
View ArticleMovie review: Compelling strangeness reigns in ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’
It doesn’t get any easier to review or understand or even think clearly about movies written by - better yet, written and directed by - Charlie Kaufman. The former include “Being John Malkovich,”...
View ArticleMovie review: Action-filled ‘Tenet’ leaves you hanging
The time-twisting “Tenet” - Hollywood’s first blockbuster release in about six months - is a lot to take in. Ambitious? Certainly! But big and bold is what’s expected from Christopher Nolan (“The Dark...
View ArticleMovie review: Disney’s marvelous ‘Mulan’ remake leaves the original animated...
In their live-action remake of “Mulan,” the folks at Disney have omitted many ingredients from the animated 1998 original. But that’s fine because of what they’ve added to it. The significance of those...
View ArticleMovie review: Strong heroine props up inert script in live-action remake of...
What started off so well with “The Jungle Book” has become an unwieldy monster for Disney’s cash-induced play to turn all of its animated properties into live-action extravaganzas. The latest of these...
View ArticleMovie review: ‘Mole Agent’ is a moving documentary about aging
Old people are funny, so goes the long-held Hollywood trope. And it’s with that in mind Maite Alberti begins her nursing-home documentary, “The Mole Agent.” Sure enough, it’s a laugh a minute, as a...
View ArticleMovie review: Jimmy Carter documentary shows he loves music as much as politics
This is a terrific documentary about the peanut farmer (high school valedictorian, Navy lieutenant, church deacon, Georgia state senator and Georgia governor) who became the 39th President of the...
View ArticleMovie review: Helen Reddy biopic ‘I Am Woman’ purrs when it should roar
You can’t take anything away from Helen Reddy. The Australian singer who moved to New York City in the mid-1960s with hopes of becoming a pop star made her dreams come true. She reached number one on...
View ArticleMovie review: A new documentary shines a light on Rolling Stones guitarist...
Guitarist Ronnie Wood has been in top name bands since the days of the second British Invasion. The earliest notable rumblings he made were when he played bass in the Jeff Beck Group, touring the U.S....
View ArticleMovie review: ‘Antebellum’ suggests that there are all sorts of horror...
“Antebellum” is not, as it’s being advertised, a horror film. Certainly not the sort that comes to mind when you think of the term “horror film.” Its contents and its messages are frightening and the...
View ArticleSymkus column: Redesigned Toronto Film Fest is a triumph
Somehow, in the midst of a global pandemic, there was indeed a Toronto International Film Festival this year, running from Sept. 10-19. And yes, even though Americans aren’t currently allowed to cross...
View ArticleMovie review: Criminal comedy ‘Kajillionaire’ runs off in too many directions
“Kajillionaire” is the third feature film I’ve seen that was written and directed by performance artist Miranda July. It’s also only the third film she’s written and directed, so I’ve got an...
View ArticleTinseltown Talks column: Evelyn Rudie’s Hollywood memories
Her film and television career may have only lasted a decade, but Evelyn Rudie’s memories as a child actor in the 1950s and 60s remain vivid beginning with a small role in the Fred Astaire and Leslie...
View ArticleMovie review: ‘Kajillionaire’ freely offers an overabundance of riches
I’m not going to lie. Miranda July’s wacky, deeply moving “Kajillionaire” requires a massive commitment to acclamation - and this coming from a fan of the writer-director’s oeuvre of wacky, deeply...
View ArticleTinseltown Talks column: John Wayne rode into movie history 90 years ago
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to ask actors to share memories of their connection with John Wayne. Since this October is a significant anniversary in Wayne world, some of their comments are...
View ArticleMovie review: One pill makes you gladder in ‘LX 2048’
The year in which this leisurely paced science-fiction thriller takes place is, as the title suggests, in the near future: 2048. The rest of the title is the diminutive of the popular drug of the day:...
View ArticleSkip or Stream column: ‘Stuntwomen,’‘Broken Hearts’‘Social Dilemma,’‘Bill & Ted’
This week’s four-pack features a pair of documentaries, some most-excellent ’80s nostalgia and an endearing rom-com. Skip or stream? Read and find out:“Stuntwomen - The Untold Hollywood Story”: April...
View ArticleTinseltown Talks column: Life after Tony Curtis takes former wife to Deadwood
It’s been 10 years since 85-year-old screen legend Tony Curtis died at his Nevada home on Sept. 29, 2010. The much-loved actor left behind a body of work that included over 150 television and movie...
View ArticleMovie review: In the WWII-set ‘A Call to Spy,’ civilian women help fight the...
So often, when a film starts off stating that it’s “Based on” or “Inspired by” a true story, I find that I’m bracing myself, preparing to jot down notes on certain overly dramatic incidents, then...
View ArticleMovie review: Acting, writing, directing make ‘The Glorias’ a superb...
The first words in Gloria Steinem’s Website (www.gloriasteinem.com) sum her up as “a writer, lecturer, political activist, and feminist organizer.” The new film “The Glorias,” directed by Julie Taymor...
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