He was a very smart guy who played dumb to the bitter end. He repeatedly claimed he’d dropped out of high school (he graduated at 14) and that he’d never been to college (he went to two). Norm Macdonald would … Continue reading →

Every era deserves its own take on Jane Austen, and 2026 gives millennials and Gen Z a go with a new “Sense and Sensibility,” revisiting the oft-revisited novel that Emma Thompson starred in and won an Oscar for scripting in … Continue reading →

“Whalefall” is a sentimental story of fathers and sons and giants of the briny blue sea. When it’s good, it’s “127 Hours” set inside the mouth and throat of a sperm whale, a terrible life test that makes its hero … Continue reading →

I binged the new comedy series “Brothers” because it pairs up a couple of longtime faves — Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey. And while I didn’t instantly regret that, regret did come early — by the second episode. And it … Continue reading →

Well, damn. Who’d have guessed that the best combat thriller about the evacuation and fall of Kabul, Afghanistan would be Hungarian, and about Hungarian NATO troops battling to get Hungarian nationals and embassy staff out of that benighted country? “Operation … Continue reading →

All the cliches, tropes and tricks of the rock star biopic are trotted out for “Less of a Stranger,” a Polish prance down the primrose path of pop stardom. “Less of a Stranger?” That phrase applies to this Polish production … Continue reading →

Lorne Michaels, the inscrutable guru who changed Saturday nights in America by creating “Saturday Night Live” and then presiding over it for almost all of its 51 years, is the “star” and central figure of mystery of “Lorne.” The documentary … Continue reading →

Isn’t it about time that America’s film schools added a “How to End Your Movie” course to their curricula? I know that they don’t have such “Finishing” or “Stick the Landing” stand-alone tutorials set up, and not just from covering … Continue reading →

Jessica Chastain has a horror hit on her hands. Replacing Jesse Eisenberg with the more naturally menacing, taller and less ZuckerberglyJeremy Strong blows up in Aaron Sorkin’s face with his Facebook Takes a Hit sequel to “The Social Network,” “The … Continue reading →

The viewer keeps waiting for “Tenzing,” the new bio-drama of the life of “the other man” to be the first to summit Mount Everest, to take a false step. But director Jennifer Peedom comes from documentaries and she’s made films … Continue reading →