Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Director: Tim Burton Rated PG-13 Running Time 104 Minutes Grade B- For better or (usually) for worse, sequels have always been a byproduct of the Hollywood ecosystem. “The Fall of a Nation” became the first film called a sequel in 1916, following the success […]
Each year, The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) provides a platform for the fall and winter debuting films eager to become awards contenders. It’s also a swell of unpurchased smaller films looking for distribution. In its 48th year, TIFF is one of the largest film festivals in the world. It showcases well over 200 films
We have entered an era so saturated with superhero movies that now the potential success of these films is measured in cameos and crossovers. Multiverse superhero films have become a specific subgenre. Every comic book character must have one now; it’s all about outdoing the last one. “The Flash” might be the first superhero film
Erin Brockovich and Worth are based on true stories about lawyers fighting for plaintiffs who have suffered horrible losses. Worth, the new film from Sara Colangelo, is certainly within her wheelhouse of dramas about grief. She previously directed Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Kindergarten Teacher and Elizabeth Banks in Little Accidents. Her latest for Netflix takes
There is a clever premise to this action thriller: It’s about “finding things that don’t want to be found.” Little references to this pop up throughout the story, always in different contexts, a testament to the skillful work of director Martin Campbell and writer Richard Wenk. The story begins a little murky, jumping around from Viet Nam, Bucharest,
Oscar winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is one of the few that can make a thriller out of people sitting in a room. In many ways his latest, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”, uses some of the same techniques that won him the Academy Award for writing “The Social Network”. The drama about seven protesters
As Disney live-action remakes go, “Dumbo” is one of the better ones. Tm Burton (“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”) puts his creative visual spin on the 1941 original cartoon. The look and style of the film is a culmination the directors previous work. “Batman Returns” fans will rejoice to see both Batman (Keaton) and The Penguin
This is a thriller about international intrigue involving the CIA and black ops, Mossad, the Iranians, the Israelis, and a nuclear device, taking place in Malta, Romania, Warsaw, Tripoli, Istanbul, and Rome—all lovely places to visit, but except for a scene here and there, we won’t see much. The story is set up with young
The best news about the third Spider-Man reboot (now in the hands of Marvel, still a product of Sony like the previous five installments), is they forgo the origin story. No spider bite, no dead uncle, we’ve been origin story’d to death with these reboots. Director Jon Watts (“Natural Selection”, “Cop Car”) takes a cue
There isn’t any brilliant filmmaking here, Michael Keaton (“Birdman”) doesn’t land the performance of the year. “The Founder” instead works as a pure interest story, shedding light of the history of America’s most popular restaurant, McDonalds. John Lee Hancock is known for such family feelers as “Saving Mr. Banks” (exposing Walt Disney, it was a