Category: 3/4

Damn good!

My Cousin Rachel [2017] ★★★

As we needed further proof of her exceptional talent, Rachel Weisz delivers a mesmerizing performance as the title character, a woman who could be innocent or an evil seductress with murderous thoughts. Working from a novel by Daphne Du Maurier (who also wrote Hitchcock’s Oscar winner “Rebecca”), director […]

IT [2017] ★★★

Movies based on Stephen King’s novels tend to range from terrific (“The Shawshank Redemption”) to just plain awful (“Cell”), but being one of his scariest and most popular stories, I approached “It” with high expectations. Filmmaker Tommy Lee Wallace had already adapted the story into a mini-series back […]

The Party [2017] ★★★

“The Party” is potent and entertaining. I walked in with no particular expectations, having read almost nothing about it, and what I got was a showcase for a host of gifted actors, including Patricia Clarkson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall, Bruno Ganz, and Cillian Murphy. The title of […]

Spider-Man: Homecoming [2017] ★★★

 Ever since Tom Holland’s Spider-Man made a brief (but memorable) appearance in last year’s terrific “Captain America: Civil War”, Marvel fans were eager to see if this reboot could finally win them over again. I personally didn’t hate Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, but his movies were far […]

Wonder Woman [2017] ★★★

 As far as origin stories go, “Wonder Woman” is pretty good. For starters, a comic book movie set during World War One offers the perfect opportunity to have an intriguing villain and cheer for the good guys as a result. Gal Gadot is once again well cast in […]

Berlin Syndrome [2017] ★★★

 “Berlin Syndrome” is terrifying because it feels real. I can’t remember the last time I liked a character in a horror movie from the get-go and then found myself rooting for her to survive. So props to director Cate Shortland and her lead actress Teresa Palmer for turning […]