X-Men Dark Phoenix

X-Men Dark Phoenix

Posted June 17, 2019

I went into Dark Phoenix with fairly low expectations. Other than James McAvoy I wasn’t in love with the cast. And it’s a story Fox has tried to do before. With one of my favorite characters. And, despite box office success, few of the X-Men movies have really been spectacular (Days of Future Past is pretty much the exception). Also while I love Jean Grey, I’m only familiar with the Dark Phoenix saga through wikipedia (and honestly I read through the Endsong rather than Dark Phoenix years ago because it’s gorgeous. Which means Dark Phoenix was either going to be […]

Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel

Posted March 9, 2019

I’m a bit disappointed because I wanted to like Captain Marvel more, despite my reservations. The trailers weren’t great. Very little story and even less personality. But I still hoped the movie would deliver. I should have known better. It’s not a bad movie. It’s just…bland. It’s not exciting. It’s not fun or funny. The movie has as little personality as the trailers. It looks cool in parts – when she’s all on fire (but without the lame helmet) and the way her memories flicker through the scenes. It’s quippy (but not in a way that made me laugh). It’s […]

Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War

Posted April 28, 2018

When Marvel filmed Avengers: Infinity War, they had no way of knowing how successful Black Panther would be. They probably guessed it would be successful enough. Because all of the Marvel movies have been. But 3rd highest domestic gross and and 5th biggest opening weekend. Beyond the money, it was a cultural phenomena that made so many different people feel their voice heard in new and undeniable ways. It also inspired Disney to share a little bit of the wealth to support youth STEM programs. Which means they will unequivocally make a sequel. They did know, when filming Infinity War, […]

best tv of 2017

best tv of 2017

Posted April 15, 2018

2017 was all about Netflix and on demand. Binge watching series I started live to see how they ended up. Catching new shows for something fresh and dynamic. I have to say, though, the binge watches far outweigh anything new. Because there aren’t that many shows on now that I really love. And because something that is a bit of a hybrid – familiar but also new and different – will probably always be my favorite. I just can’t put Once Upon a Time on the list. I will give them credit for an incredibly innovative reboot. But the new […]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Posted December 23, 2017

I sort of wish I’d rewatched The Force Awakens before going to see The Last Jedi. In part because it would have been fun. But also because I kept getting Rey’s childhood mixed up with Jyn’s from Rogue One. Every time they said she didn’t know who her parents were I thought, “Yes, she does they made her run away when she was little but she knew who they were.” About half way through the movie, I remembered that was Jyn and not Rey. In the end, though, I really liked what they did with her parents. Someone like Rose. […]

Hugh Jackman on ‘The Greatest Showman’ and Saying Goodbye to Wolverine

Posted December 1, 2017

On a blustery late-summer day, Jackman walks into Perry St, a posh SoHo eatery overlooking the Hudson. Even dressed down in a gray T-shirt and cargo pants, the six-foot-three actor with the gleaming smile and jet-black hair is every inch the movie star. He cuts a figure so dazzling that even here, a gathering spot for 1 percenters, patrons will glance over at the corner table where Jackman parks himself, hoping to catch a glimpse of the actor in an unguarded moment. Jackman looks revived after four months spent traveling with his wife, Deborra-lee Furness, and their kids, Oscar and […]

Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok

Posted November 5, 2017

Ragnarok is a good Marvel movie. But it isn’t a good Thor movie. The standalone movies each have (rather) had distinctive styles. An Iron Man film is contemporary and flashy with trusty sidekicks Pepper and Happy and Rhoddy and quippy one-liners. Captain America lost both his sidekicks (the Roaring Commandos) and his wonderful love interest (the incredible Peggy Carter) when he jumped forward in time. Since then his movies haven’t really been his – they’ve served as vehicles for the MCU with Cap as the centerpiece. And Thor… well a Thor movie has a bit of epic grandiosity and beauty. […]

Emma Watson, Rebel Belle

Posted March 10, 2017

Since her years as Hermione ended, Emma Watson has fought to assert her own identity. Now that she has found her voice—most notably as a U.N. ambassador—she’s revamping a classic stereotype, the Disney princess, in Beauty and the Beast. Watson talks to Vanity Fair about her metamorphosis from child star to leading woman. Emma Watson and I are standing on the 23rd Street platform of an uptown-bound E train in New York City and we’re littering. Literally. And literature-ly. The 26-year-old actress is scattering hardcover copies of Maya Angelou’s book Mom & Me & Mom throughout the station—tucking them between […]

Chris Pratt’s Call to Stardom

Chris Pratt’s Call to Stardom

Posted February 12, 2017

Chris Pratt’s rise to fame is so improbable he sees it as divinely ordained: the friend who sent him a ticket to Hawaii, the stranger who led him to a church, the actress he waited on at Bubba Gump Shrimp. Recalling the leaps of faith that turned him from a door-to-door salesman into a box-office king, Pratt considers what he has to prove now. Chris Pratt wanted to cook me lunch. And not just any lunch—a lunch made from an animal that Pratt himself had killed, in Texas, where the mesquite blooms and the wild boar does not care nor […]

Passengers

Passengers

Posted December 26, 2016

I’ve been interested in seeing Passengers since I first saw the trailer. Shiny sci-fi with a bit of romance, a bit of fun and a bit of danger. Even a mystery to unravel. Plus a chance for two endearing actors to prove themselves in a starring vehicle. Then after hearing whispers that critics weren’t kind, I wasn’t sure. I refuse to read any reviews or judge a film on anything but the trailer until I’ve seen it myself… so I went to see it for myself with a bit of trepidation. It was pretty much exactly what I thought it’d […]