I freely admit the main reason I went to “The Flash” was with eager anticipation for the return of Michael Keaton as Batman. So be it, but as “The Flash” and its time- and universe-bending plot undertook its twists and turns, I found so much more to enjoy than Keaton being back in the bat-saddle as the Caped Crusader. For his performance, I (and, it must be said, the entire preview audience) was ... more >
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The space-time continuum is not to be trifled with; “THE FLASH” | Movie review
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some strong language and partial nudity
Sasha Calle, Ben Affleck, Ezra Miller and Michael Keaton
Directed by Andy Muschietti
‘MAFIA MAMMA’ is an entertaining though perhaps needlessly bloody comic romp | FILM REVIEW
Stars Toni Collette, Monica Bellucci and Alessandro Bressanello
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
In the Land of High Concept, this has got to be among the more outlandish—but somehow it works. Toni Collette is Kristin, a sexually frustrated mother in midlife who one day discovers her husband in flagrante with a much younger woman, with the paramour’s fake-apology going as follows: “I’m a feminist!” So therefore OK? It’s been quite a week for Kristin, who also learns that her Italian ... more >
“KUBRICK BY KUBRICK,” “BAD AXE” and “IMAGINING THE INDIAN” : three documentaries to keep your eyes peeled for
"BAD AXE" Director: David Siev David Siev set out to make a documentary about his hometown of Bad Axe, Michigan, but what he wound up chronicling was how the covid pandemic affected his family’s small business. The pandemic saw Siev move back home to his small town from New York, where he and his mixed Asian-Mexican-American family had followed their dreams by opening up a family restaurant. ... more >
The paths to justice are manifold. Reimagining prison sentencing with “THE RECALL: REFRAMED” dir. by Rebecca Richman Cohen | TALK
When Brock Turner was handed down a sentence of just six months in prison for a sexual assault case that occurred on the Stanford University campus in 2015, a collective outrage at the light sentence eventually led to a successful recall campaign against the judge who decided the case, Aaron Persky. Many activists, especially those who decried a wealthy white man such as Turner punished so ... more >
“I GOT A MONSTER”; documentary filmmaker Kevin Abrams on dissecting on film one of the American East Coast’s most egregious police corruption scandals | TALK
Documentary available for streaming and download
When Kevin Abrams started work on his documentary “I Got a Monster” in 2018, he was determined that retelling the story of Baltimore’s corrupt Gun Trace Task Force not traffic in “ruin porn,” a staple of the HBO series “The Wire.” “It’s nicknamed Charm City, and I really got why,” Abrams, a New Jersey native, said from his home in Los Angeles. “As an East Coast guy, going there and feeling the ... more >
‘Inside’ director Vasilis Katsoupis discusses creating an environment for Willem Dafoe to thrive
Dafoe plays an art thief who becomes trapped inside a luxury penthouse
Willem Dafoe is no stranger to unhinged performances. Perhaps that’s why he plays both creepy and villainous so damn well. But what if a filmmaker were to take that extraordinary talent and energy, and force the Oscar-nominated actor to act alone, essentially portraying a character who is penned up? That’s the starting point for “Inside,” which sees Dafoe’s art thief Nemo become trapped inside ... more >
“It defied everything that you thought about them”; the Cheech Marin “CHAMPIONS” interview
Mush, you filthy huskies
Starring Woody Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson and Matt Cook
Directed by Bobby Farrelly
Cheech Marin loves sports, both in movies and real life. In 1996 he paired up with Kevin Costner for the golf romp “Tin Cup,” and in the weeks to come he will be seen in “The Long Game,” a real-life tale about a young Chicano golf team in Del Rio, Texas, in the fifties. Meantime, Marin is co-starring with Woody Harrelson in “Champions,” a touching basketball comedy in which Harrelson plays a ... more >