year : 2020 29 results
2Score

Movie review: The Jesus Rolls is a sad spin-off

In this remake of a French movie, John Turturro revisits his Big Lebowski character, but can't find any of the originality or charm    

What Elizabeth Warren Needs to Win: A Makeover

The Politics of Fashion It's a sad sexist reality, but optics and clothes matter more than anyone wants to admit. It's a lesson the TV-conscious Trump and his tummy-tuckers have mastered, and one Elizabeth Warren stands to benefit from the most if she surrenders her shapeless folksy rose upholstery for a sleek, Presidential style.  
3.5Score

Sonic the Hedgehog revives cartoon soul

Movie Review: Sonic the Hedgehog James Marsden shows the movie-going public how to handle a '90s-era videogame character reborn on the big screen as a kid-friendly version of Deadpool: Just roll with it.
3.5Score

The Assistant coolly dissects Weinstein scandal

Movie review: The Assistant Documentary filmmaker Kitty Green casts Julia Garner as a 20-something underling struggling to navigate a toxic work environment and a loud, bellowing boss who bullies those around him into submission. It's not a feel-good movie. It's an ode to millennial malaise.

Frozen memories of Finland warm a chilled soul

Travel: Finding A Sense of Faith in Finland So far, so bad... The New Year's promise of a fresh start turns sour, forcing an old scribe to seek spiritual sustenance from the past via memories of a visit to Scandinavia. By Rod Mickleburgh Well, here we are in yet another decade, And, like much of the previous 10 years, with a few exceptions, so far so bad. As the outside world turns increasingly partisan and dark, I found myself seeking some spiritual sustenance from the past. I fastened on a similar passing of time 30 years ago: the last days of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, a decade which proved pivotal in my life and career in a way I never thought possible. My reflections were likely heightened by the fact that it all took place in the country where my mother was born, Finland. I was lucky enough to be living in Paris that year, so it had seemed only natural to spend Christmas and New Year’s revisiting my ancestral roots. It was wonderful. Sparkling snow ...
2Score

Dolittle could have done a lot more

Movie review: Dolittle Robert Downey Jr. dons Victorian garb and a Welsh accent for his turn as a dotty vet with a particular gift in this grim take on a kid-lit classic that lacks authenticity, despite the realistic creatures.
2.5Score

Bad Boys for Life suffers from ED – excitement deficiency

Movie Review: Bad Boys for Life Bad Boys proved movie formula could transcend all demographic boundaries while establishing the career of Michael Bay, but a quarter century hence, not even the combined charisma of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence can salvage the bore and gore of a tired reboot.  

Jay Stone’s Top 10 movies of 2019

(Along with one honourable mention and one movie that every one else loved conspicuous by its absence) By Jay Stone   Here are my favourite movies of 2019, in alphabetical order:   Honeyland: An amazing documentary, filmed in Macedonia, about a female beekeeper who lives with her ailing mother in rocky isolation, and harvests honey in a way compatible with her deep understanding of the life of bees. This hard-scrabble harmony is disrupted by a family of raucous nomads who move next door. The result is a galvanizing drama about society, greed, culture and, well, bees.   Gloria Bell: Sebastián Lelio’s remake of his own 2013 Spanish-language movie Gloria stars Julianne Moore as a divorcee who assuages her loneliness at dance clubs, and John Turturro as the constricted man who falls for her. The final scene, with the magnificent Moore dancing to the titular disco hit, is one of the great cinematic shouts of joy of the year.   Jojo Rabbit: New ...
4 Score

Little Women bleeds period drama without cramping

Movie Review: Little Women Greta Gerwig brings her own drum to the March family saga, and miraculously, she finds new beats in Louisa May Alcott's 150-year-old American bestseller.