Noel Murray –

‘Monster Hunter’ review: A funky finish that Milla Jovovich can’t redeem

December 21, 2020 at 7:15 a.m.

For roughly two-thirds of its running time, the big-screen video game adaptation "Monster Hunter" feels like an attempt to answer a question no one has asked: What would the "Jurassic...

The creators of this "race around the world" overemphasized interpersonal conflict in the early years, but by Season 5, "The Amazing Race" developed into an ambitious and broadly appealing reality series. With its culturally diverse contestants and exotic locales, this show offers both visually exciting gameplay and an opportunity for viewers to see how different people live. (Age: 10+) Stream on Hulu; buy on Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

Reality TV to watch with your older kids

August 10, 2020 at 10:59 a.m.

The reality TV genre often gets dismissed as irredeemably trashy and filled with fame-starved men and women who'll stab one another in the back to get more time on camera....

Want to understand how a pandemic upends everyday life? The movies can tell you

March 16, 2020 at 12:04 p.m.

Back in 1939, RKO released the movie "Pacific Liner," about the chaos that ensues when a cholera-infected man stows away on a cruise ship bound for San Francisco. As the...

‘Brahms: The Boy II’ review: Return of creepy killer doll can’t help overcome cliches

February 21, 2020 at 10:14 a.m.

The hit 2016 "haunted doll" thriller "The Boy" put a sharp spin on a tired genre, by revealing in its last act that — spoiler alert — the title figurine,...

‘The Grudge’ review: New U.S. version conjures miseries supernatural and mundane

January 6, 2020 at 10:18 a.m.

The first few movies in Japanese filmmaker Takashi Shimizu's "Ju-On" series (aka "The Grudge") helped popularize the now-familiar early 2000s J-horror motifs: the pale, long-haired child-ghosts; the deep shadows concealing...

‘Anna’ movie review: You’ve seen this female action hero before, in a better version titled ‘La Femme Nikita’

June 26, 2019 at 2:16 p.m.

In his over 35-year career, French writer-director-producer Luc Besson has been responsible for blockbuster hits like "The Fifth Element" and spectacular flops like "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of...

Review: Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in ‘Holmes & Watson’ a looney-tuned misfire

December 27, 2018 at 11:21 a.m.

In the rare moments when the mystery spoof “Holmes & Watson” clicks, the movie is like a cross between a raunchy ’80s comedy and a Daffy Duck cartoon. As super-detective...

Six miles beneath the Pacific Ocean surface, a team of oceanographers and experts discover an entire hidden ecosystem laden with species "completely unknown to science." But Meg comes calling, attacking the submersible piloted by the ex-wife (Jessica McNamee) of rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham).
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‘Flatliners’ review: The remake nobody asked for, is exactly as witless as you’d expect

June 2, 2018 at 4:25 a.m.

The best that can be said about the "Flatliners" remake is that the new filmmaking team of writer Ben Ripley and director Niels Arden Oplev makes the original's members look...

‘Born to Be Blue’ review: Chet Baker story strikes right tone

June 8, 2018 at 11:20 p.m.

Most biopics of musicians try to cover too much ground, telling artists' stories from birth to death while focusing more on their weaknesses than their work. In "Born to Be...

‘Hancock’ hero’s feats of clay

August 21, 2021 at 9:12 p.m.

In the summer of "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight," the decidedly rattier "Hancock" came off as something of an also-ran, though this offbeat adventure was every bit as daring....

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