Sequels are the curse of modern-day moviegoing. Occasionally you find a good one, but more often the second or third installment dissipates all the fun and sense of discovery that made the original a hit in the first place.
Apparently I’ve been misreading the success of this series. I thought it was all about street racing, muscle cars, and eye-popping stunts. But, as I learned from the latest installment, it’s really about “family.”
If you’ve followed the saga of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, from their initial flirtation in "Before Sunrise" (1995) to their Paris reunion in "Before Sunset" (2004) you’ll definitely want to see "Before Midnight."
Glenn Frankel’s "The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend" (Bloomsbury) has received more attention from the mainstream press than the average film book, and for good reason: it is an exceptional piece of writing and research.
Noah Baumbach, who made an impressive directorial debut with "The Squid and the Whale," continues to blaze his own trail with an effervescent little film called "Frances Ha," which he wrote with its star, Greta Gerwig.
Here’s the good news: J.J. Abrams and his writing team haven’t dropped the ball. This sequel to their 2009 reboot of "Star Trek" is lively, well-made popcorn entertainment.
While "The Great Gatsby" made a lot of money last weekend (box-office pundits said it “overperformed,” which means they called it wrong), only 33% of ticket buyers chose to see it in 3-D.
Frankly, I was dreading Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of "The Great Gatsby," but I wouldn’t have anticipated that this master of gaudy excess had a genuine desire to do justice to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel.
I have a soft spot for Sarah Polley, as I’ve watched her grow up onscreen; my daughter and I used to watch her on TV as "Ramona" when she was 9 years old.
Tyler Perry has become a brand name, as much as Disney or Marvel, over the last decade. As a producer with considerable clout, he’s enabled screenwriter Tina Gordon Chism to make her directorial debut...