There's a moment so gentle and lovely in The Unknown Country: A young woman named Tana (Lily Gladstone) meets her great-uncle (Richard Ray Whitman) for the first time since she was a child. With a smi…
I can count on single digits how many mentally or physically disabled actors I've seen in major film or television productions, so it is always refreshing to see a new face like Zack Gottsagen get a m…
We all know someone who has a capacity like no other to charm us into anything, then let us down hard. For Laura Jaconi (Vera Farmiga), this someone is her father, Jack (Christopher Plummer), an endea…
Like many folks, I can recite many lines from the cheeseball Chevy Chase 80s classic National Lampoon's Vacation. Like many folks, I don't remember demanding that Hollywood remake a movie that was per…
As suggested by its title, The Odd Way Home is not your typical road movie. After fleeing an abusive boyfriend with a bloodied face, several bottles of pills, and a gun, Maya (Rumer Willis) runs into …
Director Sean Penn delivers a thoughtful, somber, enlightening and occasionally exuberant drama with his big-screen adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s book of the same name, which tells the true story of a …
Now, I'm a fan of Melissa McCarthy. She's a great physical comedian, has a blunt potty mouth that makes me laugh, and has totally cute dimples that are delightfully charming. But I couldn't help but f…
Chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) has lost his mojo. No, let's just say he is on auto-pilot. When he started out his career, he was hailed as the next big thing by foodies, with his flair and originality…
Thus begins the latest installment of the well-worn Quirky Road Trip Movie genre. Sure, the guy can have the car, but can he drop the girl off first? Oh, did she mention that the lift she wants is a f…
Judi Dench, consummate pro of an actress that she is, made me cry 8 minutes into Philomena. Her adult daughter (Anna Maxwell Martin) is rushing off to a late shift at work, but sees her mother Philome…
If there is one enduring image from the slice of Americana that is Nebraska, it is of befuddled, weathered Bruce Dern, sitting blankly with his fuzzy white hair back-lit like a halo. You are not sure …
Jason Sudeikis stars as David Clark, a petty drug dealer who finds himself in hot water with a major drug trafficker. He owes roughly $83,000 and without a penny to his name, has little choice but to …
