A student made his way to the center of the stage. We instantly recognized him, he was one of the “special ed” kids. What’s he doing here?
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Review: The Secrets of the Whales | It’s A Lot of Fin
proves that a viewer can still say “wow” and “oh, my God!” while witnessing wondrous images, even on a screen as small as an iPhone
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Review: ‘Vanquish’ | Looks Like Miami Vice, Feels Like A DVD
Here, I should probably stop and say that Vanquish is not a great film.
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Review: ‘Dad Stop Embarrassing Me’: Throwback to 90s Sitcoms
I am not mad at ‘Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!’. In fact, I’m ok with the ‘comfy slipper’ aspects of those likeable but less than great sitcoms of the 80s and 90s.
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Review: Excellent ‘Brewmance’ Not Just for Beer Bros
I will almost certainly never taste the beers mentioned in the story, but I feel like I have a stake in the brewers
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Review: Unflinching ‘Slalom’ Dramatizes Assault in the World of Skiing
shockingly sudden and predestined by all the other physically intimate stepping stones that have preceded it.
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‘Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute’ Makes Your Ears Feel So Good.
this concert film is the kind of thing you can listen to without necessarily watching it. You can also enjoy it more than once.
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‘This is a Robbery’ | Crime Docuseries Digs Deep Into Mystery
The series becomes more than a whodunnit, it also serves as a “where are they now?” mystery.
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This Expat in Indonesia Has The World On A String
He has a perpetual twinkle in his eye. A slight smile denoting empathy and a vibe of goodwill.
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Review: ‘Worn Stories’ Weaves Tales and Spins Yarns That Are Fascinating
clothing is just a clever device to get us through the door and into the lives of a fascinating array of people.
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After the Death of Albert Lima – Riveting True Crime Doc That Also Makes You Snicker
Lima’s murder was solved rather quickly. The problem was getting the killer convicted and put in prison.
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Oscar Nominees: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Wins This One. Bet On It
If you are a betting person who plays the office Oscar pool, the surest bet of the night is that the late Chadwick Boseman will win
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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 2: A Rockstar and the Villain Get Into the Mix.
there’s also something kind of “I know I’m a Rockstar” vibe to him. Oh, and make no mistake, he is a rockstar.
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Review: ‘My Beautiful Stutter’ Says Important Things Beautifully
moving triumphs and stories that are heartbreaking, but an undercurrent of hope runs throughout
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Tom Petty: New Film, New Music Coming and New Signature Gibson Guitar
doesn’t include anything that wasn’t from that period in 94 when Petty felt he was making the best album of his career.
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Review: Allen v Farrow Docuseries | Who Do You Believe?
you can’t, as a viewer, feel anything but pity or anger or sadness for most of it.
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Daniel Lanois Drops Stunning Mix of Gospel, Chill and Lo-Fi on New Album. Listen Here:
The trick that Lanois has pulled off is to take all of those recognizable genres and fuse them into something you have not heard before.
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New Solo Album from Guns N’ Roses Alum Gilby Clarke Has Great Classic Rock Vibe
His forthcoming album ‘The Gospel Truth’ is a super solid, head-bopping rocker. The songs are catchy
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Review: ‘Tina’ New Footage Revives Old Story
After the autobiography I, Tina and then the 1993 Oscar nominated film What’s Love Got to Do with It and,most recently, the Broadway Musical Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, is there anything left unsaid about Tina Turner’s life at this point? Not much, as it turns out, and yet the…
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Review: “A Lot Can Happen in the Middle of Nowhere’ Has Amazing Behind-The-Scenes Stories from ‘Fargo’
Twenty-five years ago, my fellow film critics and I assembled in the very small, but well appointed screening room inside the notorious 666 5th Avenue building in New York City. By the time the lights came up after the showing of Fargo, there was mostly stunned silence (the same group…
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Super Controversial Anti-Vietnam War Doc Re-Released
Jane Fonda presents as a benign 83 year old lady, beloved in certain circles and recently feted at the Golden Globes. But 50 years ago
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Review: Geoff Tate Brings Classic Queensrÿche Sound to Sweet Oblivion
When I interviewed Geoff Tate of Queensrÿche in late 1984, he had just come offstage, having opened for Ronnie James Dio. Covered in sweat and breathing like a chainsmoker who’s just climbed 10 flights of stairs, Tate was otherwise calm and collected. You wouldn’t have guessed that he had just…
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Review: ‘400 Bullets’ Brings One Helluva Knife to This Gunfight
I try to go into a movie knowing as little as possible, but I’m so glad that I decided to read a bit about 400 Bullets before watching – just a tiny bit of background about the film’s hero made it more enjoyable, put more at stake for the viewer.…
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Review: Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon. Gorgeous, But Too Complex?
Disney’s first Southeast Asian themed film is otherwise an amalgamation of their greatest hits: odd couple on the road, searching for a missing (fill in the blank) while learning life lessons along the way. Of course, the story is deeper than that, perhaps too deep, but you get the idea.…
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Punk Pioneer Johnny Thunders with Release From Beyond the Grave
Johnny Thunders is a true punk rock legend. He shot to stardom as a founding member of the iconic NEW YORK DOLLS. After a stint with the Dolls he then went on to form his own band Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers. Thunders sadly lost his life in 1991 aged…
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‘Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story’ – Chilly Thrills, High Adventures
Long before there was such a thing as ESPN – heck, long before cable TV or sports being branded as “eXtreme,” filmmaker Warren Miller was making sports documentaries from the ski slopes of this country and around the world. Even if you were a kid growing up in Texas, probably…
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Vanilla Fudge Drop Remastered Version of Zeppelin’s ‘Rock and Roll’
I love me some Hammond B-3 organ, I love keys – but 60s rock organ has never appealed to me. Doors, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple – all bands whose music kinda lost me with too much of that kind of organ at the top of the mix. I have to…
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Review: ‘Biggie: I Got A Story to Tell’ Has A Lot You Know, But Some You Don’t
Those most interested in the material will already know most of his story, but the new documentary ‘Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell’ dishes out numerous revelations for those who only know the hits and the fact that he was gunned down at the age of 24, about 6…
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Review: ‘The Sinner’ Season 3. Weird in a Good Way.
Originally planned as an 8 part mini-series on the USA Network, ‘The Sinner’ turned into something much more- a satisfying anthology mystery series with well-written, offbeat stories and Bill Pullman, playing Detective Harry Ambrose, always at the core. Pullam is what I call “Good Weird,” and the show, like the…
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Oscar Nominee Review: ‘The Father’ Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman Shine
You don’t expect a film about a character with dementia to be haunting, but there are moments in ‘The Father’ that literally gave me chills. It’s not because this is a horror film, it’s because the movie tells parts of its story through the point of view of the character,…
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Some Muslim Actors are Finally Playing Themselves Onscreen. Is There Room for More?
It wasn’t so long ago that Hollywood was painting Caucasian actors’ faces to play Native Americans. It wasn’t so long ago that Latino actors were cast to play Arabs and/or Mid-eastern nationalities. Things are definitely changing. Check out this release. At the bottom is the email address to contact them:…
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Movie Review: ‘I Care A Lot’ – How Dark is Too Dark?
At what point does “dark comedy” become so dark that it’s no longer funny? That’s a line that ‘I Care A Lot’ tiptoes on for two hours, occasionally flailing its arms and falling off to one side. It’s an interesting watch because the film skillfully plays with your expectations, but…
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Oscar Nominee Review: Is ‘Nomadland’ the Best Picture?
It’s so low-key and observational that you worry all the hype will work against people’s expectations. I hope not. Nomadland, officially a 2020 release for awards purposes, is, yes, I’ll say it, one of the year’s very best films. On my personal list, it’s moved just ahead of Promising Young…
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Concert Cruises Are Selling New Shows. Are You Ready to Set Sail Yet?
Before the days of Covid – music vacation cruises were more popular than ever and still on the rise. It sounds like a fun idea: spend a few days or a week on a cruise ship with some of your favorite musical artists. Who knows, maybe you’ll bump into them…
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Movie Review: ‘Test Pattern’ 3 out of 4 Stars.
Self-branded as a “Psychological Thriller,” perhaps because this is a film not easily categorized, ‘Test Pattern’ is in no way a thriller. But is it interesting? Does it examine territory rarely represented in the movies? Yes and yes. Very much an art-house film, but gorgeously wrought and with an amazing…
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Movie Review: ’17 Blocks’ is an Emotional Eye-Opener
Spanning twenty years in the lives of a Washington DC family, and evoking virtually every emotion along the way, ‘17 Blocks’ alternately rides waves of despair and anger with an occasional ray real hope that somehow, someday, this family who lives 17 blocks from the United States Capitol building will…
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Wolfgang Van Halen Drops Two Singles +Album Release Date. Listen Here!
There is no bigger Michael Anthony fan than I. It’s true that he was the only one of the original band who didn’t look like a rockstar, but he could sing his balls off. Those high harmonies that he contributed are as important to the VH signature as Eddie’s guitar…
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‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Graphic Novels Coming with Movie’s Release
There’s actually so much new stuff coming out that I’ll start with the calendar so we don’t get lost. The movie is scheduled to be theatrically released internationally on March 26, 2021, and in the United States on March 31, where it will be released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO…
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Oscar Nominee Review: ‘Minari’ – Heartwarming, Heartbreaking
Director Lee Isaac Chung is already racking up the accolades this awards season with his semi-autobiographical film, Minari. It’s true that there are certain touchstones present in every immigrant story – I was just thinking about Barry Levinson’s Avalon (already more than 30 years old) and how, even though his…
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Review: French Exit – Just A Oui Bit Weird, But Ooh La La
I like it when characters don’t give a shit whether you like them or not. It gives them the freedom to be their authentic (fictional) selves. French Exit is populated with such characters. They’re not super sweet – at times they’re not even polite or nice – but they’re good…
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Review: ‘America’s Last Little Italy: The Hill’ 3 out of 4 Stars
Don’t you just love it when you watch something that gives you lots of “gee, I didn’t know that” moments? Unless you’re from the area, you may have never heard of the place this documentary calls “America’s Last Little Italy.” Most of what we do know seems to be through…
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Documentary ‘Fake Famous’ Reveals the Secrets to Becoming A Social Media Influencer
And they’ve built you up till you fool yourselfThat you’re somethin’ else, and it’s like a curse‘Cause you can’t live up to what they made of youAnd they tell ya that you’re losin’ friends You don’t lose when you lose fake friends ‘Fake Friends’ by Joan Jett and Kenny Laguna…
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Review: ‘Two of Us’ 3 ½ out of 4 Stars
There’s a place for usSomewhere a place for usPeace and quiet and open airWait for us somewhere ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story by Sondheim and Bernstein If there’s one kind of story that has enthralled audiences for centuries, it’s that of star-crossed lovers. The new French film “Two of Us”…
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Review: ‘Malcolm & Marie’ Once is More Than Enough
I watched with interest, curiosity, and admiration. But when it ended, I knew that ‘Malcolm & Marie, now on Netflix, is a film that I will never see again. In the end, exasperation eclipsed all other emotions. Beautifully presented in high contrast black and white, the film is essentially a…
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Review: ‘Al Davis vs The NFL’ | A Stylish Look at the Glory Days | 3 out of 4 Stars
I hated Oakland Raiders team owner Al Davis at the time, and except for George Blanda and Fred Biletnikoff, I never liked any Raiders players. I was young, but still. So it’s a testament to director Ken Rodgers’ skill as a storyteller that one comes to feel affection for the…
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Review: ‘The Night’ Interesting But Not Scary
I don’t know if they make bad movies in Iran, but I have yet to see one…and I’ve seen a lot. That said, the new film ‘The Night’ by noted director Kourosh Ahari isn’t wholly satisfying if one is expecting something super scary. If you go in with expectations more…
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Review: ‘The Little Things’ with Denzel, Rami and Jared. 2 out of 4 Stars.
Normally, this is the kind of movie I really like; the genre, the look, the cast. But somehow “The Little Things” goes down as a disappointment. Not for lack of talent. I mean three Oscar winners in the cast, all of whom deliver exactly the performances you expect from them.…
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Watch This Doc About the Great Eva Cassidy Here for Free
I just found out, thanks to my friend, Jeff – there’s a documentary about the late, great Eva Cassidy, and you can watch it free, right now, right here: A new article by the great John Kelly in the Washington Post tells the story of Eva beautifully, just just a…
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Review: The Lady and the Dale – Take This Ride!!
If The Lady and the Dale were just about a talented con-man who learned the art of the hustle at an early age, it would be worth watching. If it were just about that same grifter and his wife and 5 kids constantly moving from one part of the country…
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Review: New Prog Rock Supergroup Arc of Life Make the Music Accessible
Just the other day, I mentioned to a fellow music nerd that the genre that would surely put me to sleep the fastest would be early 70s Prog Rock from the likes of Genesis and YES. To be fair, I was talking about songs clocking in at over twenty minutes.…
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Movie Review: Go/Don’t Go 1½ out of 4 Stars
Your mind wanders as you watch Go/Don’t Go, the low-budget Indie written, starring and directed by Alex Knapp, in which it is gradually revealed that he’s the last man on earth, so far as we can tell. Adam (Knapp) is the only guy around. He lives inside his head, remembering…
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Review: “One Night in Miami” |The Oscar Buzz is Real
Clay had defeated reigning heavyweight champ Sonny Liston just the night before, but each man was at the top of his respective game. And yet, they endured the kinds of indignities that no amount of success could alter: the color of their skin.
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‘Assassins’ Review: Is Truth More Bizarre Than Fiction?
By Kyle Osborne If we have learned anything in this age in which we live, it should be: Everything is being recorded on camera, everywhere, all the time. And The recordings rarely tell the whole story. Because of these two bits of reality, documentary filmmaker Ryan White, of whom I…
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Oscar Nominee Review: “Promising Young Woman” A Must See!
By Kyle Osborne Do NOT watch the trailer for this movie. Don’t read any reviews that would spoil it (I promise no spoilers. I mean, never spoilers) and don’t ask anyone about it. Just watch Promising Young Woman as blindly as possible. I’m so glad that I saw it knowing…
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Review: Kick Ass Movie “Rock Camp” Released Today On Demand!
Review: Rock Camp | 3 out of 4 Stars | Not Rated By Kyle Osborne A cynical person would say that “Rock Camp” is really just a long infomercial for Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp, and maybe it is. But I don’t care – the ordinary people who attend these…
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Review: “The Marksman” Hits Just One Target
By Kyle Osborne You know, sometimes all you want from a movie is for it to be completely predictable. You want the good guy to wear a white hat and the bad guy to twirl his handlebar moustache. You don’t want one.single.thing to happen that hasn’t been telegraphed in advance.…
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Review: MLK/FBI 4 Stars. Gripping and Revealing
Review: MLK/FBI | Gripping and Revealing By Kyle Osborne More than half a century after his assassination, one would have thought that we’d seen and heard all there was to learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. Certainly anyone past grade school can recite at least one of the civil rights…
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Review: “Zappa” Documentary Not Just For Hardcore Fans| 3 ½ out of 4 Stars
Review: Zappa | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Not Rated | By Kyle Osborne When I was 21 years old, I interviewed Frank Zappa backstage before a show in Brussels, Belgium. He was not happy to be there. He was exactly twice my age on that night, and…
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Oscar Nominee Review: “Soul” | 4 out of 4 Stars
Review: Soul | 4 out of 4 Stars | Rated PG | By Kyle Osborne “Soul,” the latest feature from Pixar Animation is deep. It’s very deep, yet it’s also delightful. How did they do that? I dunno, man. It’s magic. As amazing as the other Pixar films have been along…
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Oscar Nominee Review: Mank |3 ½ out of 4 Stars
Review: Mank | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | By Kyle Osborne What I liked about “Mank” is its rhythm, – the cadence of the dialogue and the almost musical beats in the editing. Gary Oldman delivers his lines like he’s calmly snapping your neck with a rubber band.…
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Oscar Nominee Review: News of the World | 2 Stars
Review: News of the World | 2 out of 4 Stars | PG-13 By Kyle Osborne It’s being billed as Tom Hanks’ first Western, but “News of the World” is simply a road movie. Like Midnight Run or Rain Man or Planes, Trains, and Automobiles…except not so great. The slow-pokey…
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Review: Wonder Woman 1984 | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars
Review: Wonder Woman 1984 | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars | PG-13 By Kyle Osborne Wonder Woman 1984 (stylized as WW84) would have been a four star movie if it’d been about an hour shorter. Alas, the considerable goodwill begins to wane heading toward the conclusion at 2 ½…
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Review: ESPN’s Doc on Women’s Football Hits Hard
By Kyle Osborne You know the Patriots, the Red Sox, the Celtics and the Bruins, but have you ever heard of the Boston Renegades? You’d be in rare company if you did. In the documentary Born to Play, which debuts July 1st at 9 EDT on ESPN, director Viridiana Lieberman…
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Movie Review: ‘All I Can Say’ – Blind Melon’s Shannon Hoon Filmed His Own Doc
All I Can Say | 2 out of 4 Stars | Not Rated By Kyle Osborne The “Bee Girl” was everywhere in 1993. You couldn’t turn on MTV without seeing the video for the Blind Melon song, “No Rain.” Interspersed with the inscrutable girl were the band members, performing a…
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Review: ‘Incitement’ 3 out of 4 Stars
By Kyle Osborne How does a young man go from being a promising law student with a nice girlfriend to a Right Wing zealot who thinks he’s doing God’s work by killing the Prime Minister of Israel? The new film “Incitement” takes us through those steps, many of which must…
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They Call Me Mister: How I Ended Up On a Remote Island in the Java Sea.
From Kyle Osborne They call me “Mister.” I mean, to be fair, they call all Caucasian guys “Mister” here on the tiny Indonesian island of Belitung. It sounds like they’re mimicking dialogue from a 1930’s Film Noir. ,”Hey Mister,” they call out as they whiz by on their scooters, genuinely excited…
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Review: “Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound”| 3 ½ out of 4 Stars |
By Kyle Osborne Every year at the Oscars comes the few minutes where we fidget, or go to the bathroom or check to see if we’re winning the office Oscar pool. I speak of the hurried acceptance speeches of the winners for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. Usually…
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Review: The Irishman | 4 out of 4 Stars | Rated R
By Kyle Osborne You might well say that director Martin Scorsese is plowing familiar ground in The Irishman, an epic mobster movie that features his two legendary go-to guys: Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. But, come on, who would you rather see at the helm of a 3 ½…
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Review: ‘Joker’ | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R
“Joker”| 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne I trashed my original review-I did the present day version of ripping the paper from the typewriter, noisily wadding the paper into a ball and chucking it in the trash can. Why? Because I had fallen into…
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Review: “Good Boys” is good, (not so) clean fun | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars
Review: “Good Boys”| 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne Remember back in 2004 when the Tony Award-winning musical “Avenue Q” was all the rage? The writers hit upon a novel idea that worked: take something innocent like warm, fuzzy puppets…and make them say the most…
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The Nightingale | 3 out of 4 Stars | Rated R
The Nightingale | | Rated R By Kyle Osborne By turns horrific, haunting, and visually rich, “The Nightingale” is an original spin on a revenge tale. Director Jennifer Kent (“The Babadook”) takes us to a time and place we’ve likely not seen in a movie: Tasmania, circa 1825, but material is…
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Review: ‘David Crosby: Remember My Name’| 3 ½ out of 4 Stars |
Review: ‘David Crosby: Remember My Name’| 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne “I was an asshole,” David Crosby says about himself in the revelatory documentary ‘David Crosby: Remember My Name’, and, indeed, the next 90 minutes don’t offer anyone who will argue against that point.…
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Review: ‘Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw’ | 2 out of 4 Stars |
Review: ‘Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw’ | 2 out of 4 Stars | Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne For about a solid 90 minutes into the two hour and seventeen minute Fast & Furious spin-off, the abundant goodwill generated by Dwayne Johnson (Hobbs) and Jason Statham (Shaw) is…
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Review: ‘Once Upon A Time in Hollywood’ | 3 out of 4 Stars | Rated R
‘Once Upon A Time in…Hollywood’ | 3 out of 4 Stars | Rated R| 2hr 40min By Kyle Osborne Quentin Tarantino’s ninth feature film is like a big ass, vintage Cadillac: the ride is so smooth and easy, you may not notice or even care how long it takes you…
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Review: Midsommar | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R
Midsommar | 3 ½ out 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne Once or twice a year, when a movie ends and the credits roll, you find yourself saying, “Holy crap! What the hell was that?” It’s when a director swings for the fences and makes something that isn’t…
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Review: Yesterday | 3 out 4 Stars | Rated PG-13
Review: Yesterday | 3 out 4 Stars | Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne At its core, Yesterday is a sweet British rom-com with one helluva soundtrack. If the news of the world and the current state of affairs have got you down, this good natured confection might be the perfect…
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Review: Being Frank | 1 out of 4 Stars |
Being Frank| 1 out of 4 Stars| Rated R By Kyle Osborne If a certain someone in the Oval Office were reviewing the new comedy Being Frank, he might accurately describe it as “low energy.” As a comedy, it doesn’t get many laughs, and as a family drama, it’s too…
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Review: First to the Moon | 3 out of 4 Stars|
Review: First to the Moon| 3 out of 4 Stars| Not rated By Kyle Osborne Serviceable, though not quite cinematic, First to the Moon, nevertheless, tells the Apollo 8 story with as much accuracy and detail as one could hope for. That’s mainly thanks to all three of its astronauts,…
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Review: Halston | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars|
Halston | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars| Not Rated By Kyle Osborne I learned that he had a first name- it was Roy. And I learned that he was the biggest American designer of his day in the 70s, before falling prey to the two things that cut down…
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Review: Echo in the Canyon | 3 out of 4 Stars
Echo in the Canyon | 3 out of 4 Stars| PG-13 (for drug references and some suggestive content) By Kyle Osborne We are living in a Golden Age of music documentaries. Maybe it’s just a function of so many streaming services needing content to fill out their programming? Maybe filmmakers…
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Review: The Russian Five | 3 out of 4 Stars
The Russian Five | 3 out of 4 Stars| Not Rated By Kyle Osborne The true test of whether a sports documentary has done its job comes down to this: did the filmmakers make you care about the athletes on a team in which you are otherwise completely uninterested? Legendary…
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Review: Finding Steve McQueen| 2 out of 4 Stars | Rated PG
Finding Steve McQueen| 2 out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne It’s based on a fascinating true story that would make a terrific documentary for NetFlix. Alas, the story told as a semi-comedic, semi-fictionalized, Indie flick is uneven and not quite lively enough for the big screen–it,…
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Review: Mary Poppins Returns | 3 out of 4 Stars
Mary Poppins Returns| 3 out of 4 Stars | Rated PG By Kyle Osborne This is a challenge for someone my age–someone who remembers the original in its earliest days, if not its actual premiere (that part is fuzzy), because it’s impossible for a “sequel” to match that initial experience.…
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Review: Bohemian Rhapsody | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars
Bohemian Rhapsody | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne Man, I really, really wanted to love this movie. I’ve loved Queen and Freddie Mercury since 7th grade. Seared in my memory is seeing the video for the song Bohemian Rhapsody when it was first…
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Review: Mid90s | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars
Mid90s | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars |Rated R By Kyle Osborne It’s hard not to feel affection for actor Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, even though Mid90s is scruffy, rough around the edges, and feels more like a draft than a finished film. It’s not for everybody, but if…
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Review: First Man | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars
First Man | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne Neil Armstrong was the rock star of his day, only with way better demographics and none of the glamour. An uncontroversial All-American with a brilliant mind and an aw-shucks demeanor, Armstrong was apple pie personified.…
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Review: A Star Is Born | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars
A Star Is Born | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne I’m several days late in posting a review of A Star IS Born, which currently has a favorable score of 91% on RottenTomatoes.com, and certainly doesn’t need any help from me. However, I…
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Theatre Review: ‘Heisenberg’ at Signature Theatre
Heisenberg | 3 out of 4 Stars | Signature Theatre By Kyle Osborne Walking into Signature Theatre’s smaller house, The ARK, you can’t help but notice that there’s a bed in the center of the room…and that you won’t be more than a few rows from it, no matter where…
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Review: ‘Venom’ 2 out of 4 Stars
Venom | 2 out of 4 Stars | Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne For my money, Tom Hardy is as interesting an actor as anyone currently in the business. He works economically, his performances are well-calibrated with charisma that burns through the lens- even when he’s not saying a word.…
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Review: ‘Macbeth’ at Folger Theatre. There Will Be Blood
Macbeth by William Shakespeare |3 out of 4 Stars|Folger Theatre By Kyle Osborne This article isn’t for people who know their Shakespeare cold. For knowledgeable theatre goers, read this take on the play and music. No, this is for those who only kinda recognize the quotes below, and will be…
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Movie Review: ‘Peppermint’ …Please, Make It Schnapp
Peppermint| 1 out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne You have to hand it to Peppermint, the latest version of Death Wish/Equalizer, starring the always likable Jennifer Garner: It never settles for mediocre when it can go for full blown horrible instead. Virtually every move by Director…
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Review: Never Goin’ Back | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars
Never Goin’ Back | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne It’s an odd, but engaging film that mixes an Indie character study vibe with elements of a gross-out, buddy film. I suppose there is some novelty in having two teenaged girls discussing poop, pooping,…
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Review: ‘The Meg’ 2 out of 4 Stars
The Meg | 2 out of 4 Stars | Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne Not quite good enough to be “good” and not quite bad enough to be “bad”, The Meg, nevertheless, finds a space somewhere between JAWS and Sharknado as a decent diversion for summer moviegoers. Especially as seen…
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Review: ‘The Scottsboro Boys’ at Signature Theatre 3 out of 4 Stars
The Scottsboro Boys | Signature Theatre | 3 out of 4 Stars By Kyle Osborne Kander and Ebb were/are/forever will be known for Cabaret and Chicago and for the song New York, New York, among their large and celebrated body of work. Less well known is their 2010 musical (which…
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Review: Ocean’s 8 | 3 out of 4 Stars
Ocean’s 8 | 3 out of 4 Stars By Kyle Osborne It’s hard to get mad at a film with such low ambitions—Ocean’s 8 only wants to be a light and fluffy summer flick, and on that score it succeeds. It’s fun and breezy and pass the popcorn. Sandra Bullock plays…
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That Time Sandra Bullock’s Mom Called Me
By Kyle Osborne Did I ever tell you about the time that Sandy Bullock’s mom called me at work? I was thinking about that tonight for the first time in years as I was watching ‘Oceans 8’ (opens June 8). It was in the summer of 1995-Sandy had really broken…
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Interview: Leigh Whannell, Creator of ‘Saw’ and ‘Insidious’ Makes Cool New Movie
By Kyle Osborne If you’ve ever seen a movie with “Saw” or “Insidious” in the title since 2004, then you’ve seen the work of Leigh Whannell. Along with his producing partner, Director James Wan, Whannell has written and/or produced and, in some cases, directed films that have scared the bejeezus…
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Review: ‘Upgrade’ 3 ½ out of 4 Stars
Upgrade | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars By Kyle Osborne Director and Screenwriter Leigh Whannell, the guy (along with producing partner James Wan) whose “Saw” and “Insidious” movies have made him very rich and famous, has crafted a taut revenge thriller that is unlike those in his Horror catalog.…
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Review: ‘Saint Joan’ at Folger Theatre 3 out of 4 Stars
‘Saint Joan’ at Folger Theatre | 3 out of 4 stars By Kyle Osborne| Photos: Teresa Wood The play is quite long—this review will be short. George Bernard Shaw’s classic “Saint Joan,” a play from the 1920s about that most famous girl to have ever been burned at the stake…
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Review: Breaking In with Gabrielle Union: 2 ½ out of 4 stars
Breaking In |Gabrielle Union| 2 ½ out of 4 stars By Kyle Osborne It isn’t high art, but the unpretentious thriller Breaking In is a good version of what it is: a popcorn thriller that features a relatable heroine going against some bad guys who have unwisely messed with the…
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Review: Life of the Party with Melissa McCarthy: Zero Stars
Life of the Party | Melissa McCarthy | Zero Stars By Kyle Osborne Has anyone simultaneously generated more goodwill, yet more box office stink bombs than Melissa McCarthy? She is a gifted comedic actor and, by all accounts, a lovely person. Why does she rarely find material that takes advantage…
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Review: I Feel Pretty with Amy Schumer 3 out of 4 Stars
I Feel Pretty 3 out of 4 stars Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne Amy Schumer’s new comedy, “I Feel Pretty,” brings back the charming, relatable everywoman who mass audiences embraced so warmly in 2015’s similar (sort of) rom-com “Trainwreck.” This is good news. Schumer’s early years were niche-successful, but…
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Movie Review: A Quiet Place 3 out of 4 Stars
A Quiet Place 3 out of 4 stars By Kyle Osborne A Quiet Place, directed by the actor John Krasinski, who also co-stars with real-life wife Emily Blunt, may just be the most economical movie I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t tell you anything more than what you absolutely need…
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Review: The Way of the World at Folger Theatre
By Kyle Osborne The Folger Theatre has a way of amplifying the mood and tone of each play presented there. There’s something in the air inside that house that is nearly indescribable, but in the case of writer and director Theresa Rebeck’s The Way of the World, it translates into…
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Ex-Mavericks Robert Reynolds on the Long Road Back
By Kyle Osborne It’s a new year that we’ve stumbled into, dazed from all that has transpired in the previous twelve months. But here we are, looking for a fresh start, putting one foot ahead of the other and striving for something better. Maybe something like redemption. Robert Reynolds knows…
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Good, Not Great: Three New Movies That Just Missed The Mark
By Kyle Osborne No, I’m not intentionally trolling and, no, I don’t think my opinion is better than yours. But this past month I’ve seen three movies that, while pretty solid, fell short of my hopes. And what were my hopes based on? They were based on the high praise…
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Movie Review: I, Tonya 4 out of 4 Stars
By Kyle Osborne I, Tonya 4 out of 4 Stars I kinda hate that this movie is being positioned as a snarky comedy in certain circles because it is so much better than that. It’s closer to a Shakespearean tragedy than an SNL skit. There are laughs, to be sure,…
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Movie Review: Molly’s Game 3 1/2 out of 4 Stars
By Kyle Osborne Molly’s Game 3 ½ out of 4 Stars Director Aaron Sorkin writes a script that snaps, crackles and pops. He loves his own words, some might say he loves his own words a little too much, but in the hands of the right actors, so do we.…
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Review: The Book of Will at Round House Theatre
NOTE: The run of the play has been extended through December 30th. By Kyle Osborne Equal parts silly and substantive, The Book of Will introduces us to the unsung heroes who got their old theatre pal’s plays–to reverse the old phrase–from the stage to the page. The fact that their…
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Review: The Shape of Water 4 out of 4 Stars
The Shape of Water 4 out of 4 stars Rated R (for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence and language) By Kyle Osborne If you’ve seen Beauty and The Beast or, really, any number of fairy tales, then there are but few surprises in director Guillermo del Toro’s beautiful The Shape…
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Review: The Disaster Artist
The Disaster Artist 3 out of 4 stars rated R (for language throughout and some sexuality/nudity) By Kyle Osborne I was trying to describe the movies The Room and The Disaster Artist to a friend who lives more than 10,000 miles away and speaks English as a second language. It…
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Review: Thor: Ragnarok – The Superhero Movie for People Not All That Into Superhero Movies
By Kyle Osborne I always go into these Marvel movies with high hopes, even though the whole Superhero/Comic Book genre is not my favorite. Not even close. What’s great about Thor: Ragnarok is that it’s the Superhero movie for people who aren’t that into Superhero movies. I really liked it.…
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Movie Review: ‘American Assassin’: Just Shoot Me
American Assassin 1.5 out of 4 stars By Kyle Osborne True to its literal title, ‘American Assassin’ gets right to the point, as vacationers on a pristine beach are mowed down by gunfire from an apparent Muslim terrorist cell. The body count in the first five minutes numbers in the…
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Review: ‘The Big Sick’ : Bad Title, Great Movie
By Kyle Osborne Imagine a romantic comedy that is both romantic and, well, funny! From a genre that has disappointed so many of us starry-eyed hopefuls comes ‘The Big Sick’, a delightful, heartwarming comedy that has an incredible sense of tone and reality. Yes, it is a terrible title, but…
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Movie Review: ‘Baby Driver’ One of the Year’s Best
By Kyle Osborne It’s no wonder that the fanboys were immediately gaga over “Baby Driver,” it’s a movie that is gleefully about movie making. Its flamboyant tracking shots and long takes without a cut are as attention-seeking as a bright red hot rod. The editing is frenetic and the soundtrack…
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