As I have mentioned before many, many times, the original Star Wars is the first movie I can remember seeing in a theater. I loved it then and I loved it now. The prospect of more when Disney bought out the rights was, at first, a cause for cautious optimism. Read more…
It seems like everyone is releasing movies straight to streaming now and by-passing the traditional theatrical release, or at least just issuing a limited one. But if it was good enough for Martin Scorsese, it should be good enough for Michael Bay. Hold on. That sounds very wrong. Anyway, Netflix Read more…
I think the trailer for Richard Jewell bothered me a little bit. I generally enjoy movies directed by Clint Eastwood, but of late, he’s been on something of a “real American heroes” thing, where most of his movies have been based on real heroics by various Americans. Heck, even The Read more…
I’ve mentioned before many times, even on the Tomcast 2020 podcast, that I have a certain formula for remakes. First, the remake should have a distinctive reason to exist and not simply be some kind of shot-for-shot rehash. Second, it shouldn’t be a remake of a beloved classic of some Read more…
I mentioned to some co-workers I saw the new movie Dark Waters over the weekend, and they in turn reminded me that this is not the first time actor Mark Ruffalo has been in a movie about a Dupont. Now, I haven’t seen Foxcatcher, but they gave it a good Read more…
Thanksgiving, or so the jokes go, is a time when families gather and get into ugly political arguments, particularly when one older uncle gets a few drinks into him. My family more or less agrees with each other on that sort of thing, so the closest I had was a Read more…
So, I wasn’t sure I wanted to see a movie starring Shia LaBeouf, even if it was getting a lot of critical praise considering LaBeouf wrote the script for this incredibly honest and revealing autobiographical movie, titled Honey Boy after a nickname his father used to use. But, on reflection, Read more…
I like to take my dad out to the movies when I get the chance. That doesn’t come very often. We don’t live close to each other, he’s a lot more selective than I am, and my brother gets him out to a lot of the things he wants to Read more…
Is there, perhaps, a more perfect casting for Mr. Rogers than Tom Hanks? Both men are generally regarded as among the nicest guys ever, and in Rogers’ case at least, that may not have been an exaggeration. Hanks has something of a resemblance to Fred Rogers, so casting choices like Read more…
Some collaborations, working together, have created a number of fine movies over the years. Look at Scorsese and De Niro, Hitchcock and composer Bernard Hermann, and the Johns Wayne and Ford. But there’s also director Bill Condon and actor Ian McKellen, and the two have worked together, for the most Read more…