HollywoodandFine.com When my oldest son was a tot, one of the videotapes in heavy rotation on our TV was the cartoon feature, “The Land Before Time.” In it, a group of baby dinosaurs – a brontosaurus, triceratops and a couple of others – get separated from their herd during the …
HollywoodandFine.com Not since “127 Hours” have I run into a movie that provoked that mixture of excitement and trepidation in people I know who have seen the trailer as “Gravity.” The excitement is understandable. The trailers make it look like exactly what it is, which is a harrowing, white-knuckle tale …
Hope for the best, don’t expect the worst. It’s my movie criticism mantra, but as the lights darkened at the Princess of Wales Theater for “Gravity’s” Canadian gala, already hailed as a masterpiece following a Venice Film Festival Premiere, it wasn’t just the fact that I was way up in …
Must-See Movies Beyond the Blockbusters Love her or hate her, Sofia Coppola has cornered the market on the world of privilege and its discontents. And so it goes with the writer-director’s latest movie, “The Bling Ring,” based on a Vanity Fair true-crime-in-the-Hollywood-Hills article. The film, in limited release this weekend …
HollywoodandFine.com I was heartened to read that, on its opening weekend, “The Great Gatsby” did solid business, despite some unjustly vicious reviews. I was even more uplifted when I read that, in placing a strong second to “Iron Man 3,” “Gatsby” only earned one-third of its box-office take from people …
HollywoodandFine.com Apparently, it’s already open season on Baz Luhrmann’s version of “The Great Gatsby,” which blasts off in 3D on Friday before opening the Cannes Film Festival next week. I have a hunch the knives have been out since it was postponed from its 2012 release date. But don’t believe …
HollywoodandFine.com Painfully derivative, “Oblivion” is Strike Two against director Joseph Kosinski, who made the vacantly gorgeous “Tron: Legacy.” Unfortunately reminiscent of many other, better movies, “Oblivion” is a comic-book – excuse me, graphic novel – adaptation that has one thing in its favor: It’s not in 3D. Otherwise, this Tom …
HollywoodandFine.com My heart sank when I heard that Peter Jackson, having already made the greatest fantasy trilogy of all time in “The Lord of the Rings,” was going back to the well once more, this time taking the reins of “The Hobbit” from Guillermo del Toro. And then that it …
HollywoodandFine.com A fascinating fable about the meaning of both faith and fate, “Life of Pi” is a wonderfully visual telling of a Yann Martel’s best-selling and award-winning novel. Director Ang Lee raises the bar on digital imagery, even as he puts it in service to his story. He’s also one …
HollywoodandFine.com It used to be that Disney would rerelease its old animated features on a regular schedule into theaters, reaching a new audience every decade or so with sure-fire quality entertainment that made parents cheer and kept kids entertained. That equation was upset with the rise of home video – …
HollywoodandFine.com The last time a kid was saying “I see dead people” in a movie, it was “The Sixth Sense” – and it was meant to be frightening. Now the kid who’s saying it is the star of “ParaNorman,” which is meant to be funny and exciting. Unfortunately wrong on …
HollywoodandFine.com As I watched the final few minutes of “Wrath of the Titans,” I thought, “What I wouldn’t give to be a 10-year-old boy right now.” That’s absolutely the audience that will enjoy this silly, overblown special-effects extravaganza. At 10, you can still buy into the reality of wild fantasy; …
HollywoodandFine.com Talk about mysterious islands – the one in “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” features an ensemble that includes Michael Caine, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – and Luis Guzman. That’s some bizarre casting. Oh yeah, and heartthrobs Josh Hutcherson and Vanessa Hudgens: You can’t overlook the reason this film’s core …
HollywoodandFine.com I’ve always loved animation – make that, good animation – and feel lucky that my kids were the perfect age when Disney had its second golden age of animation in the late 1980s and early 1990s. My son was 4 when I took him to see 1991’s “Beauty and …