You Had to Be There (2025)
You’ll want to be at ‘You Had to Be There’ Dozens of productions of “Godspell” have been staged over the decades, but only one seems to have been officially blessed by the Big Guy himself. That would be the 1972 Toronto version in which a dozen soon-to-be comedy legends established the genesis of what […]
The Incomer (2026)
Endearing ‘Incomer’ Is Island Onto Itself The goings-on in Louis Paxton’s debut feature, “The Incomer,” are as absurd as they are charming, telling the tale of feral, island-bound siblings who’ve never had contact with the “real” world. Well, not until a mild-mannered chap from the home office arrives on their craggy, wind-swept shore bearing […]
Unabomber (2026)
Netflix’s ‘Unabomber’ chronicle is a dud An intriguing story exists deep within the Netflix production of “Unabomber.” But director Janus Metz never quite discovers it, resorting instead to tired police-procedural tropes and the dimmest dime-store psychology. In its favor is a solid turn by Russell Crowe as disgraced Harvard psychology professor Henry Murray, […]
Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! (2026)
‘Shake Your Booty!’ dances into your heart Quirky doesn’t begin to describe “Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!” It’s a comedy centered around a grief-stricken Tokyo widow trapped in a purgatory of her own design, one where joy and sorrow coexist alongside sexual longing. It features elaborate Bollywood-esque dance numbers interspersed among wacky flights of fancy, […]
Charlie Harper (2025)
Broken hearts at core of ‘Charlie Harper’ At first, the intent of the romantic drama “Charlie Harper” seems confusing, jumbling time and place almost to the point of distraction. Even the title is misleading. It does not refer to one person, but to the first names of the couple involved in what we know […]
The History of Concrete (2026)
‘Concrete’ doc suffers from pour quality I’ve never watched John Wilson’s canceled HBO series “How to with John Wilson,” but if it was anything like his first foray into feature filmmaking, “The History of Concrete,” I’m grateful I didn’t squander a second. But I did waste 101 minutes on his maddening documentary, in which […]
Bad Apples (2025)
You’ll want a bite of Ronan’s ‘Bad Apples’ The Osmonds famously sang “One bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch, girl.” The makers of the dark comedy “Bad Apples” beg to differ with that grammatically challenged statement, offering a disturbing account of one such worm-filled winesap in 11-year-old school terrorist Danny. Not only is […]
The Weight (2026)
Hawke lends added heft to ‘The Weight’ After his superb, Oscar-nominated performance in “Blue Moon,” the lingering question was what would Ethan Hawke do next. We now have the answer. And it’s proving well worth the wait for “The Weight.” Set in 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, it’s the story […]
Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Soggy Bottom (2026)
Ewe won’t want to miss hilarious ‘Beast’ Count on the sharp minds behind “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom” to capture the “shear” fun of Halloween, and do it with keen wit and the utmost affection. It’s the third, and possibly best, entry in the “Shaun” series created by Nick Park of […]
On a String (2025)
Impressive ‘On a String’ is slightly out of tune Stand-up comedian Isabel Hagen is obviously talented. Besides writing and directing her semiautobiographical “On a String,” the Juilliard-trained violist also proves she knows how to fiddle around with toxic relationships, and not just with men. Oh, and she also helped compose and sing her film’s […]