If you look back through cinematic history, movies that
expose or debate some sort of injustice have always risen to the top. I’m not
talking about documentaries, since an overwhelming percentage of those films
exist solely to shine a light on an existing problem or abuse of power. I’m
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is now at the Box and On Demand — what more reason do you need to throw a party? And what’s better than a party revolving around magic and wizards?
Turning your movie night into a themed Fantastic Beasts bash
To celebrate the excellent, moving Creed II coming to the Box and On Demand, I pulled together a list of some of the best boxing movies. Do you know what they all have in common besides people punching each other for sport? Awards. They’re like awards magnets, I tell
While it’s impossible to escape the hype for any new Marvel
movie, the marketing for Captain Marvel
is at a fever pitch. As the first female-led Marvel film, it comes with high
expectations, a built-in fan base … and a small but loud group of pathetic
online trolls hoping
Sometimes you’re in the mood for a “normal” comedy, but
sometimes you just need something straight-up silly. As in, absurd. Goofy.
Ridiculous.
If silliness is what you seek, I have 5 movies that fit the
bill delightfully.
The Favourite – If you watched
Since my “Coming in February” post, we’ve survived the polar
vortex, wind chills of -50 here in Chicago, too many feet of snow to mention, and
a broken furnace (OK maybe that last one only applies to my household). So …
yeah. I am OVER winter already. Luckily, Punxsutawney
So … did you watch?
The Academy Awards® — or
the Oscars — were last night, and before the telecast even began,
everyone knew the evening was going to be an interesting one. It was the first
time since 1989 that the show, which is seen
I’ll never tire of movies that shine a light on
strange-but-true crimes I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. Here 4 that tell
exceptionally twisted tales, including one that is currently up for 3 Academy Awards.
Foxcatcher – Speaking of Academy Awards,this bizarre story that culminates in
Who among us hasn’t wanted to be famous? There’s a reason that
an actual Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp for adults has been in existence for
over two decades!
But if you can’t BE a famous musician, the next best thing
is watching a movie
I have been to hundreds of movie screenings over my
decade-long career as a film critic for Redbox, and while my favorite movies certainly stand out in my memory,
the screenings themselves usually do not. They are typically hosted in one of
three main theaters here in Chicago —
Where to even begin when talking about a powerhouse actress
like Viola Davis, who’s one of only 24 people ever — in the world — to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting? (That means
she’s earned an Oscar, Emmy and a Tony!)
Some of you reading
It is hard for me to think of another young actor whose breakthrough role earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination — and who then continued to wow audiences in amazing performance after amazing performance in every movie he’s been in since. But that is exactly what Lucas
While the rest of us are just trying to survive the depths
of winter, over in Hollywood, there’s only one thing on everyone’s mind in
February: the Academy Awards®. The big night is February 24, so you’ve got just
less than a month to catch up on any nominees
Sometimes when things here on Earth get too depressing or
overwhelming, it helps me to remember that we are but small, insignificant
specks in the vastness of our galaxy. And what better way to get that
perspective than to watch a movie about space?
Here
We’ve finally arrived at the day Lady Gaga has been waiting for
for a long time: Academy Award® nomination day. Early this morning, Kumail
Nanjiani and Tracee Ellis Ross revealed the movies, actors, actresses,
directors, songwriters and others who are up for the golden statue the evening
of February
I should get this out of the way first: I’m an M. Night
Shyamalan apologist. I’ve enjoyed all of his movies except that one with Mark
Wahlberg about the trees — The Happening.
(And it’s not like I hated it). And I
am an especially big fan of Unbreakable
Movies and popcorn go together like … well, movies and
popcorn. It’s really hard to imagine one without the other. And boy oh boy do
we Americans love popcorn, to the tune of over 13 billion quarts consumed per year. (That’s about 42 quarts for each
one of us,
Over the last decade it might have seemed like the Young
Adult (YA) genre — both for books and movies — was exploding, but the reality
is that it’s always been huge. (Another reality is that it’s estimated 70% of
YA books are actually read by people who are
I love it when a movie keeps its characters — and its
audience — on their toes. Cat-and-mouse movies do just that by featuring the
kind of suspenseful plots, protagonists and antagonists that guarantee almost
unbearable tension and jaw-dropping twists.
If you’re in the mood
Ah, the ‘90s. I have much love for the decade during which I
graduated both high school and college. Which means I also have much love for
movies that are set in the ‘90s. Here are 5 that’ll make you say “Dude …
sweet.”
Hackers –
I write a lot about how you can participate in various
unofficial national “holidays,” and so I am majorly excited that we have come
to one of my favorites: National Cuddle Up Day.
It occurs every January 6, and so we are especially lucky
this year,
Several times a year I write about a crop of new movies that
are based on true stories. Because as the saying goes, truth is stranger (and
therefore more entertaining) than fiction. You can definitely expect another
post like this in the new year, since several awards contenders depict
And now it is time for the speech I make every year: What
I’m about to list out are my favorite movies. I’m not saying that these are the
best movies of the year — these are
simply the ones that affected me the most. I feel strongly that
To quote a character from my all-time favorite TV show (LOST), “No one does it alone.” That’s probably why some of the most action-packed movies revolve around teams trying to accomplish a goal. Here are 4 with particularly memorable teams:
The A-Team – I
There are so many beloved Christmas movies. You’ve got your ‘40s classics like It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street. Then there are several animated favorites from the ‘60s such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Frosty the
In anticipation of seeing Mary Poppins Returns, I re-listened to the entire soundtrack from 1964’s Mary Poppins, starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. Like many people, I absolutely loved that musical and have no idea how many times I saw it growing up — but it was a
What year are we in right now? I feel like I traveled back
in time to the early ‘90s because Julia Roberts is once again everywhere. Not
that that’s a bad thing.
For those of you too young to remember, the A-list actress had her big
It’s important during the busy holiday season to take a little time off and just … relax. A snow day, or a day your family blocks off in order to stay at home and hang together during winter break, is the perfect time to reconnect and unwind.
I don’t know how it is where you live, but here in Chicago my kids get a full two weeks off of school for their winter break. And if we’re not traveling during that time, it doesn’t take too long before everyone catches a serious case of cabin fever.
Yes, you’re reading the title of this post correctly. Even though I write for Redbox, and Redbox in the business of renting and selling movies, and part of my job is to help you find movies you might enjoy, I have my limits. There are some movies I just can’t