The Grinch

Rating: PG Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes Directors: Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier Quick Impressions: The Grinch is pleasant (the movie, I mean). Whoville looks like an elaborate, multi-tiered gingerbread village nestled cheerfully inside the most heart-warming holiday snow globe you can possibly imagine. Seriously, it’s probably sitting on some …

Bohemian Rhapsody

Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 2 hours, 14 minutes Director: Bryan Singer Quick Impressions: Bohemian Rhapsody is far from a flawless film, but it sure knows how to win over an audience. After sitting in a dark theater listening to Queen hits for two hours, I dare you to leave in a …

Venom

Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 1 hour, 52 minutes Director: Ruben Fleischer Quick Impressions: “Best movie I’ve seen in a while,” was our fifteen-year-old’s verdict on this darkly funny, action-packed popcorn flick. And his nine-year-old sister chimed in, “Now I want to watch it again!” I agree with both of them, though …

Beautiful Boy

Rating: RRuntime: 2 hoursDirector: Felix Van Groeningen Quick Impressions:During the end credits of Beautiful Boy, we hear Timothée Chalamet read Charles Bukowski’s poem “Let it Enfold You” in its entirety. As I listened appreciatively, part of me wished we had come in (very) late and caught only this part of …

First Man

Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 2 hours, 21 minutes Director: Damien Chazelle Quick Impressions: Whiplash was by far my favorite Best Picture nominee of 2014. (I liked La La Land, too, though it’s possible I liked the Ryan Gosling Saved Jazz meme even more.) But those two films are so music driven. …

A Star is Born

Rating: RRuntime: 2 hours, 15 minutesDirector: Bradley Cooper Quick Impressions:I love Lady Gaga. It amazes me that not everyone feels the same way. Her immense talent is so self-evident. I remember first listening to her stuff around the time my nine-year-old was born, and I was drawn to her music …

Smallfoot

Rating: PG Runtime: 1 hour, 36 minutes Directors: Karey Kirkpatrick, Jason Resig Quick Impressions: “I see,” my mother remarked five minutes into this movie, “so they’re going to subtly undermine the Ten Commandments” (the words on the tablets, not the film). I couldn’t completely agree with her. I mean, yes, …

Fahrenheit 11/9

Rating: R Runtine: 2 hours, 8 minutes Director: Michael Moore Quick Impressions: Back in 2004 when Fahrenheit 9/11 came out, I wanted to see it but hesitated to support work so brazenly partisan, so I made a point of also watching Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ in the …

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