Oscar nominations morning is actually really fun, despite the ungodly hour. For years, I’d cover the nominations from the Academy on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills alongside all the other reporters and producers. Everyone’s in a good mood, if a bit bleary-eyed, buzzing on a combination of caffeine and expectation....
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Movies With Friends — Her
Jennie Morris and I have been friends for so long that when we were kids, we’d spend hours at one another’s houses playing Atari video games — specifically, Pitfall and Megamania, in case you were wondering. (Yes, we are dating ourselves.) Now, we’re both grown-ass women with husbands and sons...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Dumbbells
The title says it all. This is an incoherent, low-budget throwback to the raunchy sex comedies of the early 1980s. But those movies at least seemed vaguely focused compared to this painfully unfunny romp about idiots at a Los Angeles gym. My zero-star review for RogerEbert.com. Read the review...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Cold Comes the Night
A convincingly de-glammed Alice Eve is the best reason to see this neo-noir thriller set in upstate New York. She plays a single mom struggling to bet by as the owner of a rundown motel — then Bryan Cranston shows up as a bad guy with a giggle-inducing Boris Badenov...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — The Truth About Emanuel
“The Truth About Emanuel” isn’t even the truth about Emanuel, but that’s at least a vaguely better title than “Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes,” as it was known at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. Here’s my RogerEbert.com review of this psychological thriller in which Jessica Biel plays a mysterious,...
Read moreRevisiting Mindy Kaling & Matt & Ben
The insanely likable and talented Mindy Kaling has been at the center of debate lately because of her ELLE magazine cover — or rather, because of what we don’t see of her: any part of her body from the chest down. While the other actresses (Zooey Deschanel, Amy Poehler and...
Read moreLone Survivor
Universal Studios Rated R for strong bloody war violence and pervasive language. Running time: 121 minutes. Three stars out of four. We had a lively debate on What the Flick?! recently about “Lone Survivor,” and whether it’s intended as a propaganda film or an anti-war statement. Ben, Alonso and I...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Open Grave
Sharlto Copley wakes up in an open grave in … “Open Grave.” Spanish director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego presents an intriguing mystery for a while as he explores the nature of memory and identity, but ultimately his film turns disappointingly cliched. My RogerEbert.com review. Read the review here...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — Worst of 2013
Many things suck. Here are three of them. Ben, Alonso and I pick the worst films of 2013....
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — Best of 2013
Ben, Alonso and I choose our favorite movies from 2013. You all know that my No. 1 pick is: “Gravity.” But what did the guys select? The anticipation is agonizing, isn’t it?...
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