Dick Cheney is fascinating – in the morbid way that villainous figures throughout history almost always are. But is George W. Bush’s former vice president compelling enough to serve as the subject of a darkly comedic biopic that runs over two hours long? Filmmaker Adam McKay certainly thinks so, though Vice – his follow-up to the […]

One hesitates to mention right off the bat that Bumblebee is a Transformers prequel, lest discerning readers assume Bumblebee is bad and should be ignored. But it is a prequel, and if the other Transformers movies had been like this — smallish in scale, focused on a few characters, under two hours, under 300 decibels, and made by a […]

Welcome to Marwen is the latest Robert Zemeckis film to use state-of-the-art technology in the service of a story that’s cold and emotionless even though it’s supposed to be the opposite of that. It’s the natural evolution of the trio of animated films he made in the ’00s (Polar Express, Beofwulf and A Christmas Carol) that […]

We learn in Aquaman that the amphibious superhero is the product of a brief but passionate romance between a lighthouse keeper named Tom (Temuera Morrison) and Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), queen of Atlantis, who came ashore during a period of rebellion and horniness. She had to return to the sea, though, and that sad occasion led her […]

It’s been over 50 years since audiences last experienced the magic of Julie Andrews’ Mary Poppins, but in the world of Mary Poppins Returns, only a couple of decades have passed. Michael and Jane Banks are all grown up, and the former has three lovely children of his own. But with the death of Michael’s […]

Fans of Vincent van Gogh who have been clamoring for a lifeless, inert biopic, your prayers are answered! At Eternity’s Gate, from director Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), flirts with greatness by casting the excellent Willem Dafoe as the Dutch painter, but the screenplay (by Schnabel and two others) gives him little […]

(In theaters and on Netflix.) With a filmography that includes titles like Children of Men and Gravity (to say nothing of his earlier works), Alfonso Cuarón has established himself as an inarguably masterful filmmaker; a craftsman of cinematic experiences that typically garner acclaim (and a few trophies) during the all-important awards season. Roma effortlessly follows […]

There were two excellent Spider-Man movies in the early 2000s, followed by a mediocre one, a mediocre reboot, and a mediocre sequel to that reboot. Last year’s reboot, Spider-Man: Homecoming, balanced the scales — three great, three not — and our adhesive friend’s reputation is fully restored with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Now the great […]

Clint Eastwood’s 37th directorial effort, The Mule, has all the hallmarks of an Eastwood enterprise — unfussy direction, efficient but unhurried, moderately entertaining but nothing special — and is, like most of his work this century, loosely based on a true story. I say “loosely” because unlike the movie character, the real guy seems to […]

With Peter Jackson serving as executive producer, Mortal Engines should feel like more of an event — one with beautifully realized visual effects and the sort of high-fantasy spectacle we’ve come to expect from the filmmaker behind The Lord of the Rings. But the dystopian YA adaptation (a description that has become redundant) is hitting […]

Based on a 1990 novel by Richard Ford, Wildlife has a literary feel to it and comes across as a well-acted, well-produced drama for adults. Its protagonist is a kid, though: 14-year-old Joe Brinson (Ed Oxenbould), an only child who’s witnessing the unraveling of his family in Montana in 1960. Joe’s directionless father, Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal), […]