Akriti Painuly The 1990 bubblegum hip-hop comedy “House Party,” starring Kid ‘n Play (a.k.a. Christopher Reid with his fez-shaped fade and Christopher Martin with his wicked putdowns), captured the zeitgeist and impacted a great deal of what followed. It opened in March 1990 and helped usher in … Read more
The film is immediately captivating, with composer Max Di Carlo’s sprightly opening theme complementing a colorfully vintage credits sequence (by Danny Oakley and Out of Our Minds Studios) that makes it bearable to suffer through an endless list of executive producers. From there, we’re thrust … Read more
If I were an ambitious horror film producer like Jason Blum, the first thing I would do this year offers a contract to “Skinamarink” writer-director Kyle Edward Ball. But it would be a unique agreement, analogous to the one Mel Brooks made with David Lynch … Read more
“The Worst Ones” cleverly applies the filmmakers’ shared background in casting to its somewhat inside-baseball premise: a film-within-a-film that wittily traces the chaotic pre-production and production trials of an independent feature shot on location in the working-class coastal town of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France. These … Read more
In “A Man Called Otto,” Tom Hanks portrays a misanthropic, elderly hermit who never misses an opportunity to vent his ire. He gets through the day by giving everyone a hard time; you could call it his pastime. From Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol” to … Read more
A surprisingly dissonant score signals the darker intentions of director Sarah Adina Smith’s comedy, which is set in motion by an accident that reveals Lex and Mani’s anxieties regarding parenthood — and, possibly, each other. Far below an aerial shot, jade-green waves crest and unroll … Read more
The inhabitants of “Strange World” are among the most realistic and fully developed Walt Disney Animation Studios have ever portrayed. Consequently, both the characters and the setting make this “Journey to the Center of the Earth”-style adventure film colorful and diverse in all the best … Read more
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” boasts mind-bending visuals and massive action sequences, but it’s also destined to be Marvel’s most divisive film in years. Unexpectedly, Marvel’s 28th film is the studio’s darkest film to date, with many violent scenes that may be too … Read more
Let’s discuss that Moon Knight conclusion. A post-credits scene blew the bloody doors off the apparent conclusion of Marc Spector and Steven Grant’s story, teasing a long future for Oscar Isaac’s character. Before this additional scene, there was still a great deal to process. In … Read more
Those with a Netflix subscription were able to witness how things turned out for Marty Byrde, his family, and Ruth following the conclusion of one of the most popular streaming shows, Ozark. The conclusion has been somewhat divisive among fans, and there are numerous online … Read more