AVENGE THE FALLEN. Five years after the events of Infinity War, the remaining Avengers realize that there can be a way of traveling back in time to stop Thanos (Josh Brolin). The fourth Avengers film is a glorious, three-hour end in 3D to what we’ve seen ever since Iron Man (2008), cleverly and nostalgically connecting … Continue reading Avengers: Endgame
17-year-old Manhattan student Lisa Cohen (Anna Paquin) can’t get over the death of a woman who’s run over by a bus; she feels guilty because of a quick interaction between her and the bus driver… Kenneth Lonergan’s second film as director was shot in 2005, but delayed for years because of several lawsuits. The editing … Continue reading Margaret
EVERYTHING BEGINS WITH A (HER)O. In 1995, Vers (Brie Larson) returns to Earth, a member of an elite alien force… but also with vague memories of life as a U.S. Air Force pilot. Virtually serving as a parenthesis between two Avengers movies, Infinity War and Endgame, this film introduces another Marvel hero while also taking … Continue reading Captain Marvel
Ever since the Marvel Cinematic Universe started dominating the global box office, superheroes have become a safe bet. You may say you’ve grown tired of the genre, but it’s made important cultural advances over the years. They have become more inclusive when it comes to women and minorities, even if the safe basic formulas really … Continue reading My 12 Favorite Superhero Movies
WHERE WILL YOU BE, WHEN IT ALL ENDS? Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) crash-lands on Earth in time to let the other Avengers know that he and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) have just faced the formidable villain Thanos (Josh Brolin) and that he’s coming to find the rest of the all-powerful Infinity Stones. The third movie in the … Continue reading Avengers: Infinity War
NO HAMMER. NO PROBLEM. After being imprisoned by a fire demon, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) learns that Asgard is about to be destroyed and the one responsible will be his sister, Odin’s firstborn, Hela (Cate Blanchett). The third film in the franchise has Thor and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) colliding on a faraway planet and then teaming … Continue reading Thor: Ragnarok
REAPPEARING JUNE 10. The members of the Horsemen are still in hiding, but when they’re assigned a new case by the secret society of magicians that they’re now part of, everything changes. I have no idea why anyone would ask for a sequel to a rather anonymous heist thriller in the first place, but here … Continue reading Now You See Me 2
BREAK THE STORY. BREAK THE SILENCE. There’s a scene near the end of the film that will get the adrenaline pumping in any journalist. That’s when the Boston Globe printing presses start rolling and the scoop everybody’s been working on is finally published. The film takes place in 2001-2002, before the Internet started killing printed … Continue reading Spotlight: Breaking a Catholic Curse
A NEW AGE BEGINS. When a program devised by Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) called Ultron becomes unexpectedly sentient and immediately targets The Avengers as a threat that needs to be extinct, our superheroes are in for a huge challenge. The sequel to The Avengers (2012) is so firmly entrenched in the Marvel universe and … Continue reading Avengers: Age of Ultron
BASED ON THE SHOCKING TRUE STORY. “I think all comedians are dark”, said director Bennett Miller during a press conference at this year’s Cannes film festival, where his film Foxcatcher was screened. This is no surprise. After all, it’s only been a few months since Robin Williams committed suicide. Even those, perhaps especially those, who … Continue reading Foxcatcher: Murderous Millionaire
TO WIN A WAR YOU HAVE TO START ONE. In 1981, New York City writer Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo) talks to a physician (Julia Roberts) who’s doing research on what is then known as “gay cancer”; he also tries to get a gay New York Times reporter (Matt Bomer) to write about it. After turning … Continue reading The Normal Heart
4 AMAZING MAGICIANS. 3 IMPOSSIBLE HEISTS. 1 BILLION DOLLARS. THIS IS NO ILLUSION. Four brilliant magicians seemingly rob a bank in Paris during one of their Las Vegas shows and showers the audience with money from the vault; FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) is assigned the case. Another heist movie with lots of tricks … Continue reading Now You See Me
NIC AND JULES HAD THE PERFECT FAMILY, UNTIL THEY MET THE MAN WHO MADE IT ALL POSSIBLE. It took forever, but then it all seemed to change in a few months. Suddenly, Americans adopted a more positive attitude toward the idea of rainbow families. President Barack Obama coming out in favor of gay marriage in … Continue reading Kids Are All Right: Moms, Meet Dad
