movie review THE ROSES Running time: 105 minutes. Rated R (drugs, sexual content, and language throughout). In theaters. Bickering couples can be delicious to watch. Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh’s Beatrice and Benedick lit a sexy match in “Much Ado About Nothing.” And Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton boozily ripped each other to pieces in … Read more
movie review CAUGHT STEALING Running time: 107 minutes. Rated R (strong violent content, pervasive language, some sexuality, drug use). Out Friday. There is a nasty habit in Hollywood, and among movie critics, of allowing filmmakers to incessantly upchuck the same lame crime retreads. They are blinded by cartoony underworld figures, seedy alleys, drugs and guns as … Read more
movie review AMERICANA Running time: 110 minutes. Rated R (violence, language throughout and some sexual references). In theaters. Who cares about a jeans ad? Sydney Sweeney’s real controversy is the bell-bottom-of-the-barrel quality of her new movie, “Americana.” Newish, that is. The wannabe Western crime drama premiered at South By Southwest back in March 2023 and … Read more
Jamie Lee Curtis is defending “Freakier Friday.” The Oscar winner, 66, responded to Time magazine’s negative review of her and Lindsay Lohan’s body-swapping sequel. An excerpt of the review that was posted to Instagram on Friday read, “No one, as far as we know, actually asked Disney for a sequel to 2003’s buoyant, surprisingly unsyrupy generation-gap … Read more
movie review WAR OF THE WORLDS Zero Stars. Running time: 91 minutes. Rated PG-13 (some sci-fi action/violence, strong language and bloody images). On Prime Video. “The War of the Worlds” is a seminal 1898 Martian-attack novel by H.G. Wells. And in 1938, it was turned into a national-panic-inducing radio broadcast by Orson Welles. Now, Prime … Read more
movie review WEAPONS Running time: 128 minutes. Rated R (strong bloody violence and grisly images, language throughout, some sexual content and drug use). In theaters. During this lazy summer of comatose sequels, nothing has been scarier to Hollywood than an original idea. So how sweet it is that one of the freshest and best movies … Read more
movie review FREAKIER FRIDAY Running time: 111 minutes. Rated PG (thematic elements, rude humor, language and some suggestive references). In theaters. Lindsay Lohan has, seemingly overnight, switched things up. Instead of trotting out another one of those execrable holiday turds that have so far amounted to her feeble comeback, she’s starring in something that’s actually … Read more
movie review THE NAKED GUN Running time: 85 minutes. Rated PG-13 (crude/sexual material, violence/bloody images and brief partial nudity). In theaters. Nobody in their right mind would reboot “The Naked Gun.” Crime procedural spoofs were played out long ago. Leslie Nielsen, the original’s iconic and seemingly irreplaceable star, died in 2010. And lest we forget … Read more
movie review HAPPY GILMORE 2 Running time: 114 minutes. Rated PG-13 (strong language, crude/sexual material, partial nudity and some thematic material). On Netflix. It’s fitting that the sequel to Adam Sandler’s “Happy Gilmore” landed on Netflix. Weird to think now, given its enduring popularity, but the 1996 comedy, although profitable, didn’t do huge box office … Read more
movie review FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Running time: 115 minutes. Rated PG-13 (action/violence and some language). In theaters July 25. Calling “Fantastic Four: First Steps” the best “Fantastic Four” movie so far is not exactly a quote I’d advise Disney to slap on the poster. Talk about grading on a curve. The last three pathetic … Read more
movie review SMURFS Zero stars. Running time: 92 minutes. Rated PG (action, language and some rude humor). In theaters. It’s Hanna-Barbaric. I have just endured a film in which an army of little creatures cruelly tortures humans. No, not “Gremlins.” That’s a good movie. It was “Smurfs.” And the punished human was me. I Smurf-ing … Read more
movie review I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER Running time: 111 minutes. Rated R (bloody horror violence, language throughout, some sexual content and brief drug use). In theaters. Horror movie characters never learn from past mistakes. Running away from the killer, teen girls will always, always sprint up the stairs and into an inescapable … Read more
movie review SUPERMAN Running time: 129 minutes. Rated PG-13 (violence, action and language). In theaters July 11. With his “Superman” reboot, new DC Studios head honcho James Gunn is singing a different tune: Happy days are here again. The “Guardians of the Galaxy” director’s candy-coated film is unrecognizable, thank Zod, from Zack Snyder’s dark and … Read more
movie review 28 YEARS LATER Running time: 115 minutes. Rated R (strong bloody violence, grisly images, graphic nudity, language and brief sexuality). In theaters June 20. It takes some skill to pump new life into the undead. Every possible twist on the zombie movie has been tried in the past 20 years, from deadpan road … Read more
movie review ELIO Running time: 99 minutes. <br>Rated PG (some action/peril and thematic elements). In theaters June 20. Like the 11-year-old title character of “Elio,” Pixar’s latest original is small and cute. Nothing wrong with that. It’s time to accept that gone are the days of “WALL-E,” “Up” and “Ratatouille,” when the Disney-owned animation studio … Read more
movie review F1: THE MOVIE Running time: 155 minutes. Rated PG-13 (strong language, and action). In theaters June 27. An aging, non-conformist legend is back in the driver’s seat, going head-to-head with young hotshots, enraging his boss and flashing a million-dollar smile at a girl. It’s “F1: Maverick”! Yes, the “Top Gun” sequel’s director, Joseph … Read more
movie review HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Running time: 125 minutes. Rated PG (sequences of intense action, and peril). In theaters June 13. Over the course of two hours, the macho Vikings of the village of Berk go from despising and demonizing dragons to loving them like adorable puppies. I can’t say I experienced the … Read more
movie review FROM THE WORLD OF JOHN WICK: BALLERINA Running time: 125 minutes. Rated R (strong/bloody violence throughout, and language). In theaters. Even assassins get a universe now. Continuing the weedy sprawl of a franchise that hardly needs it is “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina,” an origin-to-revenge story about Eve, a dancer and … Read more
movie review KARATE KID: LEGENDS Running time: 94 minutes. PG-13 (martial arts violence and some language). In theaters May 30. “Karate Kid: Legends” continues a grand old tradition. And I don’t mean that of one generation handing down ancient martial arts skills to the next. No, “Legends” is the latest in a long line of … Read more
After last summer, which was sadly slim on major blockbusters, the sweaty months of 2025 are refreshingly stacked with big-budget, recognizable franchises and titles. Pass-the-popcorn stuff. I also threw in some smaller and original films just to help me sleep at night. Here are 10 movies to catch in theaters this summer. Ben Wong stars … Read more