New Releases

By John H. Foote (***) In Theatres and Streaming The attacks are coming hard at Lin-Manuel Miranda for his casting choices in this new film, and any Oscar chances are now highly unlikely. Once again, the new madness of political correctness in Hollywood threatens to impact good movies or at the very least make casting…

By John H. Foote (***) In limited theatres/ Streaming on Disney What is the “it” that some actors possess? That “sprinkled with stardust quality” that makes a movie star out of a normal human being, but also a genuine, transformative actor. Whatever the “it” is, Emma Stone has it. One legendary film critic called it…

By John H. Foote (****) In theatres Actor John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place (2018) remains one of the most extraordinary directorial debuts in film history, a deeply terrifying horror film that used silence to build dread. Few humans are left after an alien invasion in which the aliens quickly wiped out most of humanity, hunting…

By John H. Foote (***) Streaming on Netflix Like the rest of the yawning press around me, I did not expect much when I attended the screening for Dawn of the Dead (2004), a remake of the 60s classic from George Romero. But they had the good sense to cast Sarah Polley, and I adore…

By John H. Foote (***) Streaming on Netflix The performances of Mila Kunis and Glenn Close are so astounding in this film, so biting in their visceral honesty and raw power, it is not out of the realm to start talking Oscar for either of them. At least nominations! Is it cruel to talk Oscar…

By John H. Foote (**) Two stars for Adams, nothing more. Streaming on Netflix Never have I been a fan of the work of Alfred Hitchcock (gasp…scream…the horror). Well retract that. Psycho (1960) was positively ground shaking and genre altering, a masterpiece of horror that dared to say monsters could exist in today’s world. Vampires,…

By John H. Foote (**) Streaming on Amazon How well do you know yourself? I know myself well enough to state that being in space or a submarine would drive me insane – drooling, gibbering, twitching bonkers. Yep, that would be me in the corner, tied to a chair, eyes crazy, whacked out of my…

By John H. Foote (****) Streaming on Apple Tom Holland is best known as Spider Man to today’s audiences, at least the latest actor to play the role of Peter Parker and his alter ego. Holland has had some great moments in The Avenger series but none better than his haunting death in Infinity War…

By John H. Foote (*) In theatres and streaming Correct me if I am wrong, but in the original King Kong (1933), the great ape was about 25 to 30 feet tall. In the ill-fated remake I 1976 with Jessica Lange, it was about the same, and in Peter Jackson’s masterpiece of 2005, 25 feet…