What arrives in the first season of “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” is not a reinvention so much as a retreat. The series backs away from serious science fiction—the kind that once used strange worlds to stage moral argument, philosophical tension, and adult doubt—and replaces it with a glossy boarding-school melodrama full of rivalries, flirtations, confessions, […]
“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” arrives like the last chime of an old mantel clock—measured, sentimental, and confident that the household has earned its happy ever after. Julian Fellowes understands the ritual by now: a flourish of silver plate covers, a scramble of white gloves downstairs, an upstairs noses tilted just so. The pleasure is
The confidence in director Alexander Payne’s work is instantly evident at the onset of his film. That confidence is present in movies like “The Descendants,” “Nebraska” and “Sideways” where he first collaborated with Paul Giamatti. His latest, “The Holdovers,” might be his most confident work and one of Giamatti’s best performances. Not only does “The
Ratchet and Clank are two entertaining characters in this beautifully animated movie based on a videogame—not usually one of my favorite activities. But this one has some good messages for children having to do with loyalty, hubris, and ambition. Betrayal, vainglorious boasting, and impulsivity are boldly displayed and then shown to be mistakes, and it
We have had three reboots of Spider-Man, something we all know like the back of our hand, but it’s curious that not once has a filmmaker before Straight Outta Compton explored the story of America’s first real rap group. Most of us are familiar with the names Dr. Dre in the music world or Ice
The moment Love & Mercy goes from a moderately interesting film occurs gently. Here I thought the musical biopic had sung its last note, then producer turned director Bill Pohlad offers up something systematically different by way of the editing room and perfect casting. The real strong point of Love & Mercy is the trio
My entire life, scientists have been warning of the destruction that will occur when the San Andreas fault-line ruptures and breaks. The irony is how long it’s taken for a film like this to become reality. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson lives for these big budget, action packed, suspense thrillers, and else would you want but him when