It’s a jam-packed week on the What the Flick?! Podcast, and not just because of the prodigious casts in this week’s new movies. Alonso and I review the excellent heist thriller “Widows,” the so-so Harry Potter prequel “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” and the feel-good drama “Green Book.” We also discuss...
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What the Flick?! Podcast
RogerEbert.com — Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
It’s not as fantastic as the original, and there aren’t nearly as many beasts. Still, this spin-off series from the “Harry Potter” universe keeps slogging along. The second of five planned movies has its moments of magic, but it also features way too many characters and subplots to even begin...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
The sequel to the 2008 schmaltzy smash “Mamma Mia!” features even more characters and more subplots and more romantic entanglements. But it’s also less entertaining, the stakes are lower, and despite its frantic energy, it goes absolutely nowhere. It has its moments, though, so if you want an empty summer...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Ocean’s 8
“Ocean’s 8” is a complete blast of a heist movie featuring an all-star cast of formidable actresses in to-die-for designer gowns. But beneath the glitz and glamour of this sequel lies a statement about the way women still unfortunately tend to be underestimated. The entire cast enjoys great chemistry, but...
Read moreChristy by Request — Graffiti Bridge
When I came up with this new “Christy by Request” feature, I agreed to embrace the randomness of it. That’s part of the fun: You guys suggest movies for me to see, Nicolas chooses one from a giant, plastic bowl, and that’s what I have to review. Whatever happens, happens....
Read moreWine the Flick?! — Fifty Shades Freed
It’s the thrilling climax of the “Fifty Shades” series — mainly because it’s so deliriously bonkers and unintentionally hilarious. My dear friend and former fellow school mom Jen Wang came with me to see the original “Fifty Shades of Grey” — and, like me, she was masochistic enough to read...
Read moreWine the Flick?! — Pitch Perfect 3
“Pitch Perfect 3” is the Barton Bellas’ swan song. Not that we needed three of these movies — the first one was a blast, and it’s been a matter of diminishing returns ever since — but nevertheless, here we are. And I couldn’t imagine a better person to aca-analyze this...
Read moreWine the Flick?! — A Bad Moms Christmas
We’ve barely gotten through Halloween — I know I’m still picking through my kid’s candy stash — and it’s already time to start to talking about Christmas movies. Specifically, the sequel “A Bad Moms Christmas,” which I had the pleasure of seeing and discussing with my old friend, longtime NPR...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — A Bad Moms Christmas
“A Bad Moms Christmas” arrives in theaters just 15 months after last summer’s surprise-hit comedy “Bad Moms,” and it’s as shoddy and slapped-together as it sounds. And I really liked the original, too. But this feels like a waste of some great, veteran talent, including Susan Sarandon and Christine Baranski....
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
You’ll never know how good the first three “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” movies were until you’re forced to see the fourth one. And I say this as someone who has seen all the movies — and read all the books — with my 7-year-old son. We’re both fans of...
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