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6 days ago | 
nationalobserver.com | Volkmar Richter
The new films this week are about as varied as can be and, look at the ratings. There are no duds among them. So, no delay, let's get right to them ... Sinners: 4 stars One To One: John & Yoko: 4 The Wedding Banquet: 3 Psycho Therapy: 3 Elli and her Monster Team 3 ½ SINNERS: If you're able to accept a sudden shift from one type of movie into a completely different one you'll get one of the best films of the year so far, and possibly for weeks to come.
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2 weeks ago | 
nationalobserver.com | Volkmar Richter
For it's season four that started last night. The comedian played by Jean Smart now has that late night show she's been after and the series can get even more into power plays between women and bosses. One reviewer says it's "hilariously vicious." The other is which starts a second season Sunday and continues the post-apocalypse trek by a gruff survivor (Pedro Pascal) and the teenage girl (Bella Ramsey) he's trying to protect.
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2 weeks ago | 
nationalobserver.com | Volkmar Richter
Freaky Tales: 2 A MINECRAFT MOVIE: Films made out of video games have a mixed record. Most have been bad. The TV series The Last of Us is excellent and this is in the middle. Neither good nor bad. Speedy and visually very imaginative but also unnecessary because it feels like an old story. I'm told it's very close to the game and though I haven't played it, I believe that.
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3 weeks ago | 
nationalobserver.com | Volkmar Richter
I've been traveling and so you'll find only three of the week's new movies here, and one isn't even a movie, it's a series. It is about the people who make them, though. Hollywood types who get a very funny lampooning, and by two Canadians yet. I don't cover Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip though it looks potentially interesting because it's a follow-up to a terrific children's book and the movie that was made of it 11 years ago.
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1 month ago | 
nationalobserver.com | Volkmar Richter
Snow White is the big title this week, but for some reason Disney didn't provide previews here. The 1937 animated classic gave The House of Mouse a huge boost and a special Academy Award citation for a significant screen innovation. It came with seven statuettes recognizing the seven dwarves. Maybe Disney wanted to avert the controversies that have arisen over this new live-action re-make.
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1 month ago | 
nationalobserver.com | Volkmar Richter
It happens now and then. More new movies come along than I can get to and then write about. So, not today for or The Day The Earth Blew Up , or . There are five others you can read about though, two with higher ambitions than achievement. Can I Get a Witness?: 3½ stars The Electric State: 2 ½ CAN I GET A WITNESS: Ann Marie Fleming, who wrote and directed this, states right at the top that it is a fable.
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2 months ago | 
nationalobserver.com | Volkmar Richter
You may not have noticed this momentous bit of movie news this week. The Chinese film Ne Zha 2 is now the biggest box office hit ever in animated films. It's based on old legends and made most of its money in China, a good bit of it during the lunar New Year holiday. It bumped Pixar's Inside Out 2 out of the top spot, which it had reached less than a year ago. I didn't have access to a preview but it is now playing in Canada and I'll have to catch it.
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2 months ago | 
nationalobserver.com | Volkmar Richter
The biggest new film this week is surely Captain America: Brave New World which has a number of attributes to recommend it. Harrison Ford plays an American president with an alter ego. Fans have been clamoring for that story. Anthony Mackie, usually The Falcon, has now been asked by the retired Captain American to take over his job. That's the first time a black character has become a major super hero and the film is directed by a black Nigerian, Julius Onah.
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2 months ago | 
nationalobserver.com | Volkmar Richter
The Academy Awards are suddenly shaking this year. The biggest nominee, Emilia Perez, the film with 13 nominations, a record for a non-English language film, has taken a hit, meaning, some say, its chances are trashed because some old tweets have resurfaced. They were by its star Karla Sofia Gascón, who is the first openly transgender woman to be nominated for best performance by an actress in a leading role.
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2 months ago | 
nationalobserver.com | Volkmar Richter
If you’re thinking of boycotting the US because of the threatened tariffs, this is a good time for it in the movies. The highest profile new American film today is a dud. A couple from Canada might be alternatives and I lead with a superb film from Brazil. It’s winning awards. I'M STILL HERE: While we watch and worry about the rise of authoritarian leaders, even dictators, these days, here's a case in point to ponder.
