
“It’s not the action, it’s the distraction.” Animated movie buffs will find a joyful surfeit of both in the new DreamWorks flick The Bad Guys 2, a sequel to the 2002 hit that surpasses it in almost every way. Every primary and a few secondary characters return in a snappy heist film that has enough […]

“The Art of The Boy and the Heron” opens with director Hayao Miyazaki’s self-deprecating Project Memo: “Isn’t it proof that you are aging when you imagine you’re still capable, but in fact you have memory loss due to senility? I would say yes.” Audiences who saw the Oscar-winning film would say “no.” The Japanese title […]
It is best, perhaps, to consider Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Henceforth, ATSV) in its correct context for the purpose of this review. The film is not a sequel to Into the Spider-Verse, but a carefully planned second part of a trilogy scheduled to conclude in March 2024. This escaped the notice of some irate moviegoers […]
DreamWorks Animation has found a new sport: outperforming far more costly and heavily promoted Disney movies. As a result, the latest entry, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (PIB2 for the duration of this review), is better, livelier, and far more creative than the tedious and disappointing Disney opus Strange World. One might think this […]

I have not seen every film based on Carlos Collodi’s 1883 Italian novel Pinnochio; the essential story has spawned countless variations and thematic similarities. In truth, I have seen six or seven, none especially notable other than the 1940 Disney animated classic, which remains the ne plus ultra of the bunch. That said, the 2022 […]