“Dark Horse” is “Rocky” with a mane and a tail.
Plus, it’s a true story.
Category: Eleanor Ringel Cater
Movie column by Eleanor Ringel Cater
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“The Lobster” is delicious; see it before it’s gone
Chilly, perverse and pitch-black absurd, “The Lobster” is unlike any movie you’ve ever seen.
There is, perhaps, a soupcon of David Lynch. A smidgeon of David Cronenberg. The little-seen and absolutely mind-blowing “Holy Motors” comes to mind, as does the obscure but better known, “City of the Lost Children.”
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‘Money Monster’ has everything going for it, still goes wrong
Though it centers on a hostage crisis in New York City, “Money Monster” is no “Dog Day Afternoon.”
It is, however, a dog.
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‘A Hologram for the King’ allows Tom Hanks to portray re-birth of a life
In the pensive and nimble “A Hologram for the King,” Tom Hanks isn’t waiting for Godot. But he might as well be.
Hanks plays Alan Clay, once one of the best salesmen at one of the best companies in America: Schwinn Bicycles. But then he became part of a move to outsource most of the company’s labor to China (“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” he ruefully explains) and before long, Schwinn was a mere shadow of itself, with hundreds of employees out of a job. (One of Alan’s recurring nightmares is the day he had to lay off all those people).
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‘Mother’s Day’ may be interesting – if this were 1986
Having ruined “New Year’s Eve” and Valentine’s Day,” Garry Marshall now takes dead aim at “Mother’s Day.”
Moms of every shape, size, and soap-opera lineage run amok in this insultingly simple-minded tribute to the holiday made in Hallmark heaven.
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‘The Jungle Book’ is simply breathtaking
For the second time in a matter of weeks, the supposed “kids” movie turns out to be the best thing on screen.
“The Jungle Book” is just wonderful. Better than wonderful. There’s more sheer WOW!!! in this adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic than in a dozen superhero flicks.
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‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ is one hot mess of a movie
Richard Linklater’s latest, “Everybody Wants Some!!,” is so terrible, so utterly disappointing that I actually came up with four leads for this review (Now, that’s a severely miffed critic).
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‘Eye in the Sky’ explores complex moral dilemma of long-distance warfare
In the riveting “Eye in the Sky,” the fog of war isn’t the only thing clouding the judgment of politicians, military personnel and PR types who bicker, snivel, posture and pass the buck. Of course, being half a world away from the front lines of the war on terrorism makes that fog a lot thicker.
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‘Hello, My Name is Doris’ doesn’t come close to its potential
What is one to make of the movie, “Hello, My Name is Doris”?
Make tracks in the opposite direction is the short answer.
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‘Remember’ transcends genre expectations
Much like Christopher Nolan’s ineffable “Memento,” “Remember” plays around with memory.
Or perhaps more accurately, with the lack thereof.
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‘Knight of Cups’ should be Terrence Malick’s swan song
I’d been warned.
I asked the kid at the concession stand if he’d seen “Knight of Cups” and he said yes.
So, how was it?
Posted inEleanor Ringel Cater
‘Zootopia’ a romp filled with noir-ish touches, weird science
In “Zootopia,” the sensational new animated feature from Disney, not only does the lion lie down with the lamb, they work together, take yoga classes together, and shop at the same stores. So do rhinos and tigers, giraffes and jaguars, wolves and voles.
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‘Whiskey Tango Foxtrot’ a smart movie miscast by promoters as Ha! Ha! Comedy
Remember the old mantra about the war in Vietnam? The one about winning “hearts and minds?”
In “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” Tina Fey’s sharper-than-sharp new movie, hearts and minds are “the two best places to shoot somebody.” Or so says the young Marine being interviewed by newscaster, Kim Baker (Fey).
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Oscars 2016: A richly textured fabric
Sometimes, there’s nothing like spending an evening with a bunch of guilty liberals.
Make that, guilty, extremely wealthy liberals.
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The Oscars – Predictions and Predilections
Well, less than a week to go and it’s all over but the Monday morning quarterbacking. And, of course, the ubiquitous never-ending analysis.
Not analysis of who won and who didn’t, but who looked good and who didn’t. Maybe they should stop calling it the Oscars and go with The Big Red Carpet.
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‘The Lady in the Van’ captures essence of a formidable woman
Here’s how “The Lady in the Van” came about:
In 1970, playwright Alan Bennett, moved to what he calls “a good street on the up and up … Dickens’ abandoned widow once lived here.”
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‘Hail, Caesar!’ dims in comparison to ‘Barton Fink’
The Coen brothers can be a lot like the little girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead.
When they’re good, they’re very, very good. But when they’re bad, they’re horrid.
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‘Jane Got a Gun’ makes you grateful it isn’t worse
A not-so-funny thing happened to “Jane Got A Gun” on the way to theaters.
Actually a whole lot of not-so-funny things happened.
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Oscars: Why ‘Star Wars’ was snubbed is a mystery
Oscar announcements are fun. And frustrating. Maybe that’s why ruminating on who got snubbed and who got lucky can be even more fun.
Soooo, let’s take a look.
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‘The Revenant’ a beautiful film, but story doesn’t seem real
There’s a fairly famous stage direction in Shakespeare’s, “The Winter’s Tale” — the oddly matter-of-fact instruction: “Exit, pursued by a bear.”
I thought about that as I watched a momma bear fold, spindle and mutilate Leonardo DiCaprio in the rough-and-ready frontier adventure, “The Revenant.”
