Even lesser Pixar offerings are better than most of their competitors’ work. Such is the case with “Luca,” a sweet and beautifully animated fantasy about the adventures of some nice sea monsters. Two young ocean dwellers near the Italian Riviera venture onto land and discover they turn human whenever they’re...
The long-delayed sequel to filmmaker John Krasinski’s wildly original sci-fi horror thriller has finally arrived in theaters. “A Quiet Place: Part II” is a worthy follow-up that seems even more timely as we emerge from quarantine. The blind aliens with acute hearing continue to wreak havoc on humanity as one...
Expect multiple Oscar nominations for “Nomadland,” a drama based on a non-fiction book about indigent senior citizens who travel around the U.S. in trailers in search of employment. Frances McDormand is solid, as always, and director Chloé Zhao uses a number of non-actors to play versions of themselves. It’s slow-moving,...
The folks at Pixar continue to show their golden touch. “Soul” is a Disney+ feature that again demonstrates that animation can be a powerful way to tell a compelling story that would be difficult for live action. Jamie Fox voices the lead character, a jazz piano player who is accidentally...
Christopher Nolan’s mind-boggling sci-fi action thriller “Tenet” begs to be seen on the big screen. It also begs to have subtitles. While it’s involving and visually dazzling, the confounding time-inversion plotline is further muddled by an obtrusive soundtrack and heavy accents. John David Washington and Kevin Branagh do an impressive...
“Upside-Down Magic” is a “Harry Potter” wannabe aimed at an even younger demographic. This Disney Channel movie, based on the Scholastic book series, is about students who attend a school for kids with the gift of magic, but the story concentrates on the struggles of four misfits who are ostracized...
“Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop history lesson about a founding father may be the most unlikely hit musical of all time. The Disney+ ‘live capture’ version of the original Broadway production more than lives up to the hype. While no filmed play can capture the electricity of a live performance, “Hamilton”...
As our local cinemas are still temporarily closed, this week’s Freeze Frame will concentrate on new movies that can be streamed at home. The raunchy Netflix original comedy “Coffee & Kareem” is shamefully wrong-headed and beneath the talent and dignity of its able cast. Ed Helms plays Officer James Coffee, a...
