It sounds painfully mawkish if not downright implausible on the page: a woman, paralyzed from the chest down in a freak accident, finds hope and determination in caring for an injured bird. The parallels would be too forced; the symbolism, too obvious. But despite its feel-good formula, “Penguin Bloom” still...
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Reviews
RogerEbert.com — Midnight Traveler
It’s sort of a miracle that “Midnight Traveler” exists. The documentary follows husband-and-wife filmmakers and their two young daughters as they travel over three years and 3,500 miles seeking asylum. The Taliban has put out a hit on Afghan director Hassan Fazili, so he and his family must journey from...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Hustlers
Jennifer Lopez is as electrifying as you’ve heard in Lorene Scafaria’s “Hustlers,” based on the true story of a group of strippers who hunted, drugged and fleeces a bunch of Wall Street jerks for millions. But the whole movie moves with the stomp and swagger of Lopez’s big, opening number,...
Read moreBreakfast All Day Podcast 9/12/19
Don’t be fooled by the rocks that we got. We’re still Breakfast All Day from the block. And we were dazzled by Jennifer Lopez’s electrifying performance in the true crime drama “Hustlers,” although Alonso and I had differing levels of enthusiasm for the movie as a whole. We also review “The Goldfinch,” the...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Brian Banks
It is a tricky time to be releasing a movie like “Brian Banks,” based on the true story of a Southern California high school football star who was falsely accused of rape and sentenced to six years in prison. Aldis Hodge gives a strong performance, and certainly this does happen...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! Podcast 12/24/18
All is merry and bright on this final What the Flick?! Podcast episode for 2018. Alonso, Ben and I enjoy a spirited discussion of Adam McKay’s polarizing political satire “Vice,” which greatly divided us, as well. We also review a couple of biopics: “On the Basis of Sex,” about Ruth...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — The Mule
All the pieces would seem to be on place here for a gripping and grown-up drama, including an incredible cast led by director Clint Eastwood. So why does the result feel so empty and unsatisfying? “The Mule” has some serious problems in terms of its depiction of Hispanics and women....
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Green Book
I am shocked that not only did I not dislike “Green Book,” I found myself dazzled and even borderline choked up by the end. It’s pure formula, this story of a black man and a white man who learn they’re not so different after all while on a road trip...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — The Front Runner
The typically charismatic Hugh Jackman is horribly miscast in “The Front Runner” as Gary Hart, the Colorado senator who was on his way to the Democratic nomination — and probably the presidency — before a sex scandal derailed his career in 1987. Jackman seems too old, too mad and too...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! Podcast 10/18/18
It’s a Halloween miracle: Ben Mankiewicz actually joined me and Alonso for the latest What the Flick?! Podcast. (One of these days, all four of us will be in the same place at the same time, I promise.) This week, we talk about the latest incarnation of the horror classic...
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