30 April
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FOUR GOOD DAYS Director: Rodrigo GarcíaStarring: Mila Kunis, Glenn Close, Joshua Leonard, Stephen Root, Chad Lindberg, Violet Brinson Mila Kunis shows off her range in the new film Four Good Days as she steps far away from the traditional comedies she’s known for and tackles the pain of addiction. She stars as Molly, a heroine addict who comes knocking on her mother’s door begging for help. Her mom, Deb played by Glenn Close, has been in this situation many times before and shuts the door in her daughter’s face. She’s been hearing the “I’ve changed” speech for ten years now and can’t take the hurtRead More →

24 November
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UNCLE FRANK Writer/Director: Alan BallStarring: Paul Bettany, Peter Macdissi, Sophia Lillis, Stephen Root, Judy Greer, Margo Martindale, Lois Smith, Steve Zahn Families are more than the people you are born into. Sometimes it’s the chosen families that make us who we are. They offer the space and environment to make us feel whole. Writer/director Alan Ball explores those identities in his new film Uncle Frank. Paul Bettany takes on the title character. He lives in New York, and as a gay man in the early 1970s he never felt quite at home with his biological family. He still remains closeted to all of them exceptRead More →

07 January
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ON THE BASIS OF SEX Director: Mimi LederStarring:  Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, Stephen Root, Sam Waterston, Kathy Bates, Jack Reynor Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been the focus of two movies in 2018. The first was the documentary RBG and now actress Felicity Jones plays her in On the Basis of Sex. The film covers Ginsburg’s days in Harvard Law School, her husband Marty’s (Hammer) diagnosis with testicular cancer, teaching at Rutgers Law School, and settles in on a case handed to her by Martin about tax deductions for caregivers and how men and women should have equal protection under the constitution. Here’s my reviewRead More →

10 May
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LIFE OF THE PARTY Director: Ben Falcone Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Molly Gordon, Maya Rudolph, Gillian Jacobs, Luke Benward, Julie Bowen, Heidi Gardner, Debby Ryan, Jacki Weaver, Stephen Root Melissa McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone frequently collaborate on a variety of projects. They’ll write the script together while he directs it and she stars as the lead. Life of the Party is their third movie together following 2014’s Tammy and 2016’s The Boss. I’d rank this film as the best of the three. In it McCarthy plays Deanna who is heartbroken after waiving goodbye to her daughter, Maddie (Gordon), who’s entering her freshman year ofRead More →

23 February
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GET OUT Director/Writer: Jordan Peele Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener, Lakeith Stanfield, Lil Rel Howery, Stephen Root, Marcus Henderson, Betty Gabriel I would never have thought funnyman Jordan Peele would have turned to the horror genre for his directorial debut. He’s best known as one half of the Comedy Central duo Key and Peele. After their show ended, they released the cat action comedy Keanu last year, and now Peele is flying solo. There’s that old myth that the black guy always dies in a scary movie, and Peele is shifting that around with Get Out. Girls star Allison Williams starsRead More →

08 July
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MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES Director: Jake Szymanski Starring: Zac Efron, Adam Devine, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Stephen Root, Stephanie Faracy, Sugar Lyn Beard, Marc Maron, Kumail Nanjiani We’ve all been to that wedding where there’s some obnoxious family member or groomsman that’s had one too many drinks at the open bar and proceeds to make a scene. Zac Efron and Adam Devine (Pitch Perfect) are those kinds of guys in Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates. Apparently this film is “inspired by the life stories” of two brothers who consider themselves “party creators” at these types of family functions. Mike Stangle (Devine) isRead More →

18 March
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HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS Director: Michael Showalter Starring: Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Tyne Daly, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Stephen Root, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Reaser, Peter Gallagher I am not ashamed to admit that I love Sally Field. Always have and always will. We’ve seen her giving life advice to Forrest Gump, putting Abraham Lincoln in his place, as a flying nun, Gidget, and Norma Rae. Hello, My Name is Doris is a completely different kind of film for her. After the death of her mother, Doris Miller seems a bit lost. She lived a simple life taking care of her mom and doing data entry workRead More →