The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next big bad is making his big screen debut in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” Read more'Quantumania's' Kang the Conqueror is Marvel's next big villain
“Magic Mike’s Last Dance” is about strippers but are they still called strippers when the most they take off is a shirt? “Last Dance” promises racy fun in its commercials, so what we have here is a butt-and-switch. Read moreChanning Tatum, Salma Hayek heat up 'Magic Mike's Last Dance'
Tom Brady says he’s retiring from football for real this time. But along with his Super Bowl rings, and that nagging string of resume asterisks on the topic of suspicious football air pressure levels, he’ll always have “80 for Brady.” Read moreFonda, Moreno, Field and Tomlin give their all in '80 for Brady'
What happens when two geniuses in their respective fields engage in a sometimes contentious, life-long collaboration? The answer to that question can be found in Lizzie Gottlieb’s “Turn Every Page — The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb” (Yes, Gottlieb is the director’s father). … Read more‘Turn Every Page’ a fascinating safari with literary lions
Romantic comedies have been in a slump for the last decade-plus, but a small batch featuring recognizable stars are set to premiere over the next few weeks. This seems as good a time as any to take a state-of-the-union look at the genre. Read moreAre there any good new rom-coms? Checking in on the state of the genre
A greatly moving hybrid film, the British entry “Living” is based on the 1952 film “Ikiru” by the Japanese master Akira Kurosawa, itself loosely based on Leo Tolstoy’s 1886 novella “The Death of Ivan Ilyich.” The Kurosawa film features a great Takashi Shimura (“Seven Samurai”) in the lead. Read moreBill Nighy triumphs in poignant ‘Living’
She’s your new best friend and humanity’s worst nightmare, a high-tech AI doll with a homicidal streak. Read moreHow the killer doll in 'M3GAN' came to life
All the things that make “A Man Called Otto” stand out are things that really should make it commonplace. The film is made with a level of craft and simple competence that has become shockingly rare. A genuine movie star is allowed to radiate charisma and charm, and all the performances have… Read moreTom Hanks gives 'A Man Called Otto' an easygoing sincerity
Clive Davis is both the producer behind “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and the second biggest character, and you’ll never guess who’s depicted as the hero of the movie. Read moreNaomi Ackie dazzles as Whitney Houston in 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody'
Olga Kurylenko and Don Johnson, who have appeared in such high-end efforts as “Quantum of Solace” (2008) in Kurylenko’s case and “Knives Out” (2019) in Johnson’s, demonstrate the fine art of making inferior material look better than it is in the B-movie “High Heat.” Read moreCast helps ‘High Heat’ punch above its weight
Ah, the 1990s. The days of boy bands, Beanie Babies and fanny packs. Read moreNorthwest Classics
After two years Hollywood would rather forget, 2022 offered some hope. Read moreThe 22 best (and 5 worst) movies of 2022, a 'Maverick' kind of year
J.D. Dillard’s 2016 breakout feature film “Sleight” was a low-budget gem that showcased what this up-and-coming filmmaker could do. Applying an indie sensibility to a gritty, magic-inspired superhero origin story, his focus on character over spectacle made “Sleight” moving, and memorable. In… Read more'Devotion' a spirited war story and salute to friendship
The most over-the-top sequence of “Spirited” wasn’t supposed to happen. It was just a throwaway joke in the initial script. Read moreBehind the scenes of Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell's chaotic 'Spirited' tap dance
The next couple of months are as busy as they get at theaters — and at the theater in your living room. Read moreSeason bringing holiday fare, Oscar hopefuls and, at last, the first sequel to ‘Avatar’
An elite, motley crew assembles for a very special dinner in the deliciously dark thriller satire “The Menu,” a philosophical deconstruction of artists and their enablers. Written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, of “Succession” and “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” and directed by Mark Myl… Read more'The Menu' serves up sharp satire about creating, consuming art
While not technically a Thanksgiving movie, “It Happened on 5th Avenue” (1947) does take place during the holidays and embraces a bounty of seasonal warmth and feel-good sentiments — minus football games and mad dashes to the airport. Read moreStart the holidays with a warm comedy about a mansion full of strangers
Never thought I’d see Old West tough-guy actors Lee Marvin (booze-soaked Ben Rumson) and Clint Eastwood (Sylvester Newel, or Pardner) singing their lungs out in a musical. Read moreNorthwest Classics
2018’s “Black Panther” wasn’t just a wild success, it was an axis-shifting historically significant moment — the first major comic book movie featuring a Black superhero, it was the first superhero movie to be nominated for Best Picture, and it won three Oscars, for its score, production des… Read more'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' pays tribute to Boseman while effectively advancing the story
Great true stories about space exploration don’t come around too often anymore. Our pop cultural representations about NASA’s achievements (or failures) tend to be period pieces and retreads of the greatest hits. But the new documentary “Good Night Oppy,” directed by Ryan White, is an exciti… Read moreMars rovers steal the show in fresh, imaginative 'Good Night Oppy'
Let’s face it — it’s been a rough two-and-a-half years, and we might just need a rom-com in which George Clooney and Julia Roberts go to a gorgeous tropical location and wear cutely rumpled linen outfits and spend most of the movie insulting each other in such a way that you know they’re goi… Read more'Ticket to Paradise' a charming diversion with George Clooney and Julia Roberts
This week brings a couple of much anticipated reunions to the big screen — in the same movie. Read moreWith Julia Roberts' return to the rom-com, it's a good time to revisit her classics
Where is the next generation of slasher killers coming from? “Halloween Ends” has some ideas. Read more'Halloween Ends' with a rousing battle between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode
In the imperfect, but clever and genuinely moving comedy-drama “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry,” a lonely bookseller finds love and fulfillment in a way that will remind readers of some of the plots of their favorite books. Set for the most part in the fictional Cape Cod-adjacent Alice Islan… Read more‘The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry’ a satisfying, clever dramedy
Halloween and Hitchcock — they spook well together. Read moreInvite this Hitchcock thriller to your Halloween dinner party
Writer/director Parker Finn’s feature debut “Smile” boasts the thinnest of premises based on a laundry list of horror movie trends and tropes, from the historical to the contemporary. Based on his 2020 short film “Laura Hasn’t Slept,” Finn inserts the latest hot topic in horror — trauma — in… Read more'Smile' lampoons horror tropes — or does it?
After a string of live-action remakes, from “Beauty and the Beast” to “The Lion King,” the Walt Disney Co. has finally gotten around to “ Pinocchio.” Along the way, there have been some nice performances, enormous heaps of CGI and, lest anyone forget, one very blue Will Smith. Read moreJiminy Cricket! A live-action ‘Pinocchio’
“Let’s start again.” The opening line of “Hold Me Tight” hits a little differently the second time around — and the movie, a jagged little heartbreaker from French writer-director Mathieu Amalric, is certainly built for repeat viewings. That might seem like an odd thing to say about a pictur… Read moreVicky Krieps holds a splintered emotional drama together in the piercing 'Hold Me Tight'
With her rousing new action-drama, “The Woman King,” director Gina Prince-Bythewood suggests that, in at least one crucial respect, the West African kingdom of Dahomey was more ahead of its time than that starry imperialist empire called Hollywood. Read moreViola Davis adds another jewel to her crown in a rousing 'Woman King'
That one-word title looms large over “Barbarian,” one of the most delightfully twisted horror films of 2022, in which a woman named Tess (Georgina Campbell) stumbles into a nightmare when she finds her rental house already occupied by a stranger. Read more'Barbarian' explained: Unpacking all the twists and the real villain in Airbnb horror
As the horrors of World War II continue to resonate throughout our collective memory, writer/director Ben Parker mines that time period for his historical action/horror film “Burial,” and finds an original concept within that well-known milieu. Read moreWWII action film 'Burial' also packed with weighty philosophical questions
NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time in three years, the fall movie business is lurching back into high gear. Festival red carpets are rolled out. Oscar campaigns are primed. Long-awaited blockbusters, like “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Avatar: The Way of Water,” are poised for big box… Read moreIs it, maybe, back to normal at the movies?
I squared up with “Beast” in full-on beast mode, meaning: pad, pen, popcorn and proportional expectations. Expectations somewhat exceeded. Turns out “Beast” is a fairly good, pretty brutal, dumb-smart survival thriller made with a clear, even reductive sense of purpose. Read moreIdris Elba is a father who goes mano-a-gato with a rogue lion in 'Beast'
We’re always hungering for more Viola Davis. Read moreViola Davis joins ‘Hunger Games’ prequel in ‘cruel,’ ‘fearsome’ role
B.J. Novak opens his debut feature “Vengeance,” which he wrote, directed and stars in, with a scene of acidic social commentary that lays the tone for the smart satire of contemporary media culture that ensues. Read moreB.J. Novak's directorial debut 'Vengeance' a smart social satire
Ron Howard, good ol’ Ron Howard, is back in sturdy form with “Thirteen Lives,” a tense, nervy procedural thriller based on the 2018 incident in which a youth soccer team and its coach were saved from a flooded cave in Thailand while the world watched on breathlessly from afar. Read more'Thirteen Lives' lets Thai cave rescue story unfold naturally
The DC Comics Cinematic Universe has mostly taken a dark, gritty approach to blockbuster comic book movies. But perhaps there’s another way to explore the world of the Justice League that’s a bit more warm, cuddly and friendly? That’s the thesis presented by the animated movie “DC League of … Read more'DC League of Super-Pets' a family-friendly spin on superhero lore
Dakota Johnson is nothing less than enchanting in "Persuasion," director Carrie Cracknell's modern-in-attitude adaptation of Jane Austen's 200-year-old novel. Read moreDakota Johnson is bewitching in Jane Austen adaptation 'Persuasion'
In “Nope,” writer/director Jordan Peele presents us with a big, shiny summer blockbuster — a cowboys and aliens riff built from the DNA of sci-fi spectacles of yore — and then proceeds to vivisect the very notion of a summer blockbuster before our eyes. Read more'Nope' another genre-disrupting masterpiece from Jordan Peele
“Where the Crawdads Sing” benefits from a woman’s touch. Read moreHugely selling novel ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ gets winning adaptation
You can’t help but be charmed by the current of weirdness that washes through the computer-animated “Despicable Me” franchise. Read more‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’
Someone has got to put Thor out of his misery. That’s the setup of “Thor: Love and Thunder,” but it also becomes a larger existential question after taking in this middling installment, the latest version of “twee Thor” from co-writer and director Taika Waititi. While the Oscar-winning Kiwi … Read more'Thor: Love and Thunder' a superhero movie that wants to be a rom-com
Austin Butler threw his voice, body and soul into playing Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s grandiose musical drama “Elvis,” even recording his own versions of the rock ‘n’ roll icon’s hip-swiveling, live-wire early songs. But to bring the big-budget epic to its showstopping close, Luhrmann an… Read moreHow ‘Elvis’ re-creates Elvis Presley’s haunting 1977 performance of ‘Unchained Melody’
In this saturated true-crime market, innovation can be a challenge. Then Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez walked into the Arconia. Read moreThe stars of 'Only Murders in the Building' aren't above a little trash talk
Disney has made big business mining content from content, with spinoffs and sequels and multiverses dancing through multiplexes and streaming apps. Read moreSci-fi story 'Lightyear' nimbly blends adult drama, kid adventure
What is Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity? Letting the dinosaurs out of their cages, over and over, and expecting them not to slaughter all of humanity this time? Read more'Jurassic World Dominion' gets a jolt from original stars
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As a child of the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, I was certain there wasn’t a Disney movie I hadn’t seen. Read moreNo 'lion' about it – a movie made in Grant County!
The long-running, award-winning Fox animated series “Bob’s Burgers,” created by Loren Bouchard, is an unassuming Hollywood success story. Built in the same mold as the “The Simpsons” and “King of the Hill,” it’s no surprise that this irreverent, whip-smart and family-oriented animated comedy… Read more'The Bob's Burgers Movie' a hilarious, heartfelt outing with the Belcher family
Jets still scream and muscles still gleam in the ridiculous and often ridiculously entertaining “Top Gun: Maverick,” though in several respects, the movie evinces — and rewards — an unusual investment of brainpower. I’d go further and say that it offers its own decisive reversal of Maverick’… Read moreTom Cruise flies high — again — in the exhilarating 'Top Gun: Maverick'
Based on the bestselling books by Australian author Aaron Blabey of “Pig the Pug” and “Thelma the Unicorn” fame, computer-generated animated action film “The Bad Guys” tells the tail, uh, I mean, tale of a group of scary-looking animals, who are also talented professional thieves. Read moreDelightful ‘Bad Guys’ great fun to watch
Not to jinx it, but it’s been a pretty good year at the movies so far. Read moreFilms worth seeing on a big screen right now
Third time’s a charm for the “Fantastic Beasts” series, which took three tries to — finally — produce something that feels like a complete movie. Read moreReview: 'Secrets of Dumbledore'
At first glance, “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” looks like a cash grab from the same people who made 2020’s shockingly successful “Sonic the Hedgehog.” Read more'Sonic the Hedgehog 2' is better than the original
Days after its historic Oscar win, “CODA” is headed back to movie theaters this weekend. Read more'CODA’ rereleased in movie theaters following historic best picture win
Chris Pine slips into his best spy-wear for Tarik Saleh’s “The Contractor,” a character study (cloaked as a thriller) of a U.S. Army Ranger who tries his hand in the murky world of private security. Written by J.P. Davis, “The Contractor” paints a deeply cynical picture of life after service… Read moreChris Pine excels as veteran who enters world of private security in 'The Contractor'