I love movies, tech, politics, games and more. I've been writing professionally since 1985 and, thankfully, have worked with some of the best editors in the business. I'm also a proud member of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle and the Broadcast Film Critics Association (Critics Choice Awards).
The enigmatic college dropout rises to become one of the most respected (and feared) business leaders in history in Jobs. Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) was a force from his earliest days. Never one to play to social norms, Jobs moved to the beat of his own internal drummer. He had the gift for visionary thinking […]
A poor black child from the deep South overcomes incredible odds to become a White House butler and bears witness to some of the greatest strides (and setbacks) of the civil rights movement in Lee Daniels’ The Butler. Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) was raised on a cotton plantation in Georgia during the early 1900s. He […]
An aspiring voice-over artist strives to break the glass ceiling of the industry by becoming its first major female voice in the new comedy In a World… Carol Solomon (writer/director Lake Bell) has a dream to become one of the top voices in commercial movies and television. Unfortunately, it’s a world still dominated almost exclusively […]
A streetwise, charismatic teen unintentionally falls for a good-hearted, introverted girl who teaches him a thing or two about young love in The Spectacular Now. John Lennon‘s solo hit, “Beautiful Boy,” includes the lyric, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Those words perfectly encapsulate the overriding theme of the latest romantic […]
A frustrated tech employee wants his shot at the big time and gets his chance — and all that comes with it — in Paranoia. Adam Cassidy (Liam Hemsworth) works for one of the biggest mobile companies in the world. The problem is that he’s not content to slowly work his way to the top, hoping against […]
New York’s crime-fighting high schoolers return with a vengeance in Kick-Ass 2. Three years after the original story, the heroes and chief villain have all had some time to grow up and evolve — for better or worse. Their efforts have paid off by empowering new would-be crime fighters to take up the cause and […]
Woody Allen‘s latest film bounces between New York and San Francisco as it follows a one-time wealthy socialite who has to come to terms with her new, less fortunate, reality in Blue Jasmine. Jasmine French (Cate Blanchett), is an invented name as fake as the person who created it. Jasmine has always seen herself above […]
On a devastated futuristic Earth, an ordinary man’s dream to cross the literal divide between classes comes to the forefront in Elysium. Matt Damon stars as the ordinary man, Max Da Costa, who grew up in the early 22nd century on an Earth that’s overpopulated, unhealthy and dangerous. It’s so bad that the richest populace […]
A new documentary called Blackfish takes an in-depth look at the world of killer whales in captivity. Most everyone I know has been to SeaWorld at one time or another. It’s nearly impossible for them to come away from it without feeling drawn to the killer whales and other marine animals they encounter. It’s in our nature […]
A group of friends and a local hippie they pick up along the way search for the ultimate high and some meaning in their lives in Crystal Fairy. There are great films. There are lousy films, and then there are films that remind me why I felt I had something to contribute to the glut […]
Passengers and crew consider their options on a potentially doomed flight in the new offbeat comedy from Spanish writer/director Pedro Almodóvar. Imagine taking the antics of 1980’s Airplane! and mixing it with the eroticism of 1986’s 9 1/2 Weeks then have it come from Spain. The result wouldn’t be that dissimilar from what we get with […]
A nerdy high school senior decides to apply her ample scholastic skills to a new project — becoming sexually savvy before heading off to college in The To Do List. Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza) is everything most parents dream about. She’s smart, dedicated, problem-free and a virgin. She’s even earned the distinction of class valedictorian. What’s […]