Recent Reviews
These are our latest reviews of movies at theaters, at the art house, or at festivals.
Avengers: Endgame
****2019, Anthony Russo, and Joe Russo
It’s virtually an invitation to go back and explore with fresh eyes all that preceded it.
It’s a marvelous conclusion to an unprecedented cinematic feat that’s been 11 years in the making.
The drama is as hollow as a guitar’s body, but at least Teen Spirit has a soul.
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Dumbo (2019)
***1/2
It’s a fantastical world that’s perfectly suited for Burton’s visual and storytelling sensibilities.
Check it out and let it sink in. This Dumbo is smart.
While Tim Burton’s live-action version of Dumbo doesn’t quite soar, it actually might be too smart for its own good. Give this one some time to be fully appreciated; it’s one of those rare movies that gets better as it lingers in the memory.
Hotel Mumbai is a fascinating movie to watch, both as a harrowing portrayal of the siege and as a powerful study of the differences that both divide and unite.
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Apollo 11 (2019)
****Todd Douglas Miller
Monumental history unfolding with quiet, understated humanity and humor.
Wow.
Apollo 11 is a brilliant documentary.
It’s so brilliant, it doesn’t even remotely feel like a documentary. It’s on par with Damien Chazelle’s First Man in terms of atmospherics and cinematography. And Apollo 11 trades in Ryan Gosling for the real deal, Neil Armstrong.
Captain Marvel
**1/2
Too much is thrown to the trite and the tame instead of leaning forward into the bold and the brave.
Captain Marvel is a busy — but uninvolving — misfire.
Fighting with My Family
***1/2
Getting ahead of the pack involves more than self-perception. It takes that “something extra.”
Fighting with My Family is a heartwarming tale of piledrivers and half nelsons.
They Shall Not Grow Old
****Peter Jackson
The voices speak of human character, courage and pluck - traits that are fading away over time.
By breathing new life into 100-year-old war footage, Peter Jackson delivers one of the best documentaries about World War I.
The Kid Who Would Be King
***1/2
The performances from the young actors can either make or break a movie like this.
The Kid Who Would Be King brings chivalry back into the conversation. Whoa. Dude. Right on!
Glass
*M. Night Shyamalan
It’s the same through-line that was told exponentially better in the Dark Knight trilogy.
This Glass is empty.
M. Night Shyamalan’s super-dull superhero trilogy comes to a rip-snoring conclusion in this supposed paean to comic books that lacks thrills, humor, fun and human interest.
Mary Poppins Returns
****Rob Marshall
Emily Blunt’s take on Mary Poppins is practically perfect in every way.
Mary Poppins Returns with much more than a spoonful of pure, badly-needed optimism.
This is a clever movie, America. But it’s not a documentary.
Give Christian Bale the Oscar. He nailed my mannerisms and tics. My measured speech patterns. How I gargle. No one else has delivered such an impeccable performance in 2018, at least not in the movies.
Welcome to Marwen
**1/2Robert Zemeckis
It might be a better choice to simply watch the documentary, Marwencol.
Welcome to Marwen is a well-meaning effort, but the truth is more colorful and makes more sense.
Bumblebee
**1/2Travis Knight
None of it is even remotely offensive, but then again, not much of it is particularly stimulating.
Bumblebee doesn’t live up to all the buzz.
Like ‘em or hate ‘em (did anybody really love ‘em?), Michael Bay’s Transformers movies had a certain kind of frenetic energy that kept them entertaining, at least to a certain degree. But their oftentimes crass and offensive humor made them easier to keep at a distance instead of embrace.
Creed II
***1/2
It’s all about the importance of character and the ability to face life’s challenges.
Creed II’s strong emotional core makes it a big winner.