Buddy
Rating 5/10 The children’s TV show at the center of Buddy is devoted to teaching life lessons. So it’s a bit ironic that the movie itself fails to understand an important one: a brilliant setup needs a satisfying payoff. The first act is so good that I initially thought I might be watching one of […]
Coyote vs. Acme
Rating 7/10 I get a kick out of seeing animated characters interact with flesh-and-blood actors. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is the gold standard, but it’s hardly the last to revisit the formula. I thoroughly enjoyed Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers in 2022. And now it’s particularly satisfying to see the Looney Tunes inhabit the real […]
The Magic Faraway Tree
Rating 7/10 The Magic Faraway Tree is the sort of sweet, PG-rated fantasy jaded adults might dismiss as overly twee, yet its sheer imagination won me over. What begins with a family trying to make a life in the English countryside soon turns into a crazy adventure involving impossible lands and three siblings who gradually […]
Tony
Rating 7/10 I wouldn’t call myself an Anthony Bourdain fan, but I am a fan of the world he inhabited. I love good food, eating out, chefs, and shows like Top Chef. Bourdain was a frequent guest judge before becoming a recurring judge on Season 8, All-Stars. His critiques could be sharp, funny, even brutal, […]
The Rivals of Amziah King
Rating 7/10 For a while, this delightful fable plays like a quirky story about beekeeping, bluegrass, and found family. But beneath that gentle charm, a crime thriller emerges. That unpredictability kept me truly engaged. Although I started to miss what made its opening stretch so special. Matthew McConaughey is Amziah King, a beekeeper and bluegrass […]
The End of Oak Street
Rating 7/10 When it comes to dinosaur movies, Jurassic Park is the undisputed king. The 1993 blockbuster set a standard that its many sequels have spent more than three decades trying to match. But it hardly has a monopoly on these prehistoric beasts. From the stop-motion reptiles of King Kong (1933) and One Million Years […]
The Invite
Rating 6/10 It opens with an Oscar Wilde quote: One should always be in love. That’s the reason one should never marry. There must be something inherently relatable about inviting the neighbors over and discovering their private life is, shall we say, more adventurous than yours. The Invite is the latest incarnation of a 2020 […]
A Toxic Love Story
Rating 7/10 They say the truth is stranger than fiction, but the reality in A Toxic Love Story gets so bizarre you may need a flowchart. This Netflix true-crime documentary centers on Ian Diaz, a U.S. Marshal living in Orange County, California. His relationship with fiancée Michelle Hadley ends in a nasty breakup in 2015. […]
One Night Only
Rating 5/10 This high-concept premise imagines a New York where premarital sex is outlawed except for one designated 12-hour window each year. It is an intriguing idea that could have inspired a provocative movie about government control, sexual morality, and personal freedom. Unfortunately, One Night Only has little interest in exploring any of those questions. […]
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Rating 8/10 At this point, I’ve given up trying to remember the correct order of the titles in this series. Was it Homecoming, Far From Home, then No Way Home? Or was No Way Home before Far From Home? Thank goodness, the content is a lot easier to keep straight than their interchangeable names. Spider-Man: […]