A week ago, the NASA rover Perseverance landed on Mars, sending back new photos and actual audio from another planet. Let that sink in and feel the weight of that achievement. And to celebrate, let’s...
Finally a comedy brightens the dreary abyss of features that fit the bill in name only. “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” available to rent, is easy viewing that goes down like a sea breeze....
Is life little more than a simulation? This metaphysical question drives Rodney Ascher’s latest documentary “A Glitch in the Matrix.” Too bad no good answers come, especially when so few compelling...
Classism in India often graces the big screen, but few films do so with the style and tonal diversity of Netflix’s “The White Tiger.” What begins as a gripping exploration of castes and scheming...
Gossip, sexual tension and the next James Bond sizzle in Netflix’s answer to “Downton Abbey.” OK, fine. Breakout star Regé-Jean Page probably won’t become the next 007, but he’s got charm...
Since the early 2000s, a Marvel film has always kicked off the summer movie season, even pre-Marvel Studios. Not in 2020. “Black Widow” got delayed a year and two other planned features for the Marvel...
One of the oldest ironies of parenting arrives during special events. A present. A big one. Little hands vigorously tearing through wrapping paper. It looks expensive, but the real gem is that oversized...
Ever wish for a season when the sitting president’s name wouldn’t dominate the headlines? Last year, that wish came true with a price: murder hornets, civil rights protests and of course, pandemic...
In a normal year, the latest Christopher Nolan flick would dominate the summer movie season, featuring superheroes, heady sci-fi or trippy neo-noir. “Tenet” – finally available digitally after...
A good musical is life-giving. “Singin’ in the Rain,” “The Sound of Music,” even modern gem “Moulin Rouge” – a good musical experience on screen lasts forever. Honestly, Netflix’s...
A pandemic can’t touch Netflix’s holiday fetish, hocking nearly 20 new films, limited series, themed episodes or specials. That’s too much schmaltz for any one person to consume, even for research...
How many times can you rewatch the same show? Once a year, twice maybe? And when the series finale arrives, what’s next? In my house, the answer is obvious, at least for “New Girl”: restart.
This...
In a year of media limbo, nostalgia replaces film and TV delays with casts of recent and late classics recording Zoom parties for all to enjoy. Check out Josh Gad’s YouTube series “Reunited Apart”...
Greta Thunberg is a household name in environmental activism. The now 17-year-old Swedish teen made headlines in 2018, and “I Am Greta” chronicles several moments not long after, building to something...
Good writing embarks on the unknown, domestic and intergalactic. Don’t condescend. Don’t generalize. “The Queen’s Gambit” understands that, presenting a high-stakes mid-century series equally...
Is “Star Wars” fantasy or science fiction? It’s an old debate, presenting evidence like spaceships and alien species versus the Force and lightsaber duels. That’s all a red herring that distracts...
Critics love to diagnose a cultural moment with a flashy new term, elating in the prospect that it might become the next trending catchphrase.
New terms aren’t necessarily a bad thing. “Neo-noir”...
“The Strain”/FX, Hulu
The premise for Guillermo del Toro’s trashy vampire series, based on the 2009-11 book trilogy, began with the hybrid undead monsters created for “Blade II,” replacing...