I love the decade of the 1970's which has some of my favorite films and certainly my favorite genre of music, disco (excluding the genre of film scores). And the second prequel film from Illumination's Despicable Me franchise is jam-packed with both the music and references to the movies of my favorite decade. And while...

Although she is mostly known for her visually extravagant and surreal Broadway theatrical productions and film work, Julie Taymor created a more conventionally structured biopic with her film “The Glorias” (2020). The result is one of her most emotionally resonant works of art, and a further evolution in Taymor's increasingly accomplished cinematic projects. While...

Director Scott Derrickson has taken a short story written by Joe Hill (son of Steven King) and fleshed out "The Black Phone" into one of the most effective creepy movies in a long time.  We often see movies based on short stories that have nothing more to offer and should have remained in short...

Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" isn't your typical musical docu-drama.  Like Baz's previous films, this one is packed to the rim with kinetic energy, feet-tapping tunes, and a questionable grip on reality.  In a particularly brilliant choice, the story is told in flashbacks from the perspective of the villain, Elvis' shady manager Colonel Tom Parker. (Tom...

Pixar's "Lightyear" isn't an expanded story about the action figure we know and love from the "Toy Story" series, but instead, it's this movie that later spawned the toy.   While some may argue the concept is just a gimmick meant to stretch out the "Toy Story" saga even further, Pixar has lovingly crafted one...