Jonathan Larson, the creator of the hit musical “Rent” (which earned Pulitzer and Tony awards) is the subject of this film as he was writing one of its predecessors. He is young—not yet 30—but wants to set the Broadway world on fire with his musicals. He captures the interest of one who turned out to be his […]
By now you have seen the trailer, read my thoughts from the world premiere at TIFF, and heard how “Dear Evan Hansen” has been drug through the social-media mud all before hitting theaters. That begs the question, is the film adaptation of the Tony Award Winning “Dear Evan Hansen” really that bad? The answer will
You might have heard that Amazon’s new film opened the Cannes Film Festival with a five-minute standing ovation. What you also should know is the Cannes audience is made up of international participants whose tastes rarely align with the mainstream. “Annette” might be the first and last high-profile experimental film Amazon Studios sends to Prime
In his first film since the smash hit “Crazy Rich Asians,” director Jon M. Chu teams with Tony award-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda bringing his Broadway hit “In the Heights” to the big screen. If you like your musicals flashy, long and chaotic, “In the Heights” will certainly satisfy that missing element from the box office. A
Academy Award winner Renee Zellweger (“Cold Mountain,” “Chicago”) drops a house on the acting competition this year, portraying one of our most beloved film icons. “A blip” is what Bridget Jones would have called Zellweger’s soft return in the third installment of the Jones character, but “Judy” isn’t simply a comeback, it redefines the Texan’s
Stupidity abounds in Danny Boyle’s latest film “Yesterday” which comes to us from a Richard Curtis (“About Time”, “Love Actually”) script. The origins of the story are the main selling points of the trailer and also the films most charming moments. After the blackout that causes The Beatles, Coca-Cola, and cigarettes to disappear, the entire film
Like with Bohemian Rhapsody, it’s impossible not to be moved by the performance of the leading actor. Only this time, Dexter Fletcher gets full credit and doesn’t have to worry about controversy. Taron Egerton might have a bit more feature film experience than Rami Malik did, but still a relative newcomer portraying an icon. Elton
Director Guy Ritchie is a peculiar choice to helm Disney’s live-action remake of the 1992 animated film “Aladdin.” Will Smith is an even more curious choice for the role of Genie, made iconic by the late Robin Williams. After dodging some initial controversy over Smith appearing in “blue-face,” Ritchie’s version, which runs about 40 minutes longer
Two things you must know before reading my review on the Mary Poppins sequel. I didn’t like the original, even as a young child, I found it boring, and completely uninteresting. Not much has changed, you might dismiss my review, “oh he doesn’t like musicals”, which isn’t true; I love Chicago and Moulin Rouge. He
Oscar nominated actor Bradley Cooper (“American Sniper”) has made an unusual choice for his directorial debut. Warner Bros had been planning to remake “A Star is Born” for years (there are versions from 1937, 1954, 1976). This one was originally conceived as a vehicle directed by Clint Eastwood and staring Beyoncé. Cooper is almost as