Film Review: “Argylle”

Argylle is a silly waste of (too much) time and (too much) talent

Before we get too far into this review, have you seen the newest Apple laptops and desktops? If not, don’t worry, because Argylle will show you. Yes, the new Apple Original Film, the spy thriller Argylle, is very much a commercial for Apple products. But that’s the weakest of my criticisms. The best thing about Argylle being released is that we don’t have to sit through its excruciating trailer anymore, which seemed to precede every movie in existence for the past four months. The worst thing about Argylle is that the full-length film is just as excruciating.

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Film Review: Rocketman

Overstuffed effort … but worthwhile viewing

Taron Egerton as Elton John at Dodger Stadium in 1975
Taron Egerton as Elton John at Dodger Stadium in 1975

There are any number of Elton John lyrics that would fit nicely here, to start this review of Rocketman. You’re thinking of them now. You know you are. There are so many. How do you choose? You’re also picturing the former Reginald Dwight, festooned in iridescence and bedecked in enough feathers to set off hundreds of allergic reactions, enough sequins to blind at 100 yards. And now that you’re thinking about Elton, you’re tripping back over the bio and musical highlights: Big ’70s rock star, years of excess, late ’80s resurgence, recent marriage and fatherhood, late-career comparisons to Tom Jones or maybe Van Morrison.

Great, you think, but how, you ask, does all that get stuffed into a two-hour long mainstream movie? Great question!

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Film Review: Pete’s Dragon

Recapturing that ol’ warm fuzzy Disney feeling.

The biggest kind of warm fuzzy.
The biggest kind of warm fuzzy.

For those who remember the 1977 Disney classic, Pete’s Dragon, you may wonder why an obscure title such as that one would need a remake. To be honest, the remake doesn’t answer that question. But nevertheless, the new Pete’s Dragon is a very charming family film. Pete’s Dragon has an old school magical feel to it, with similar familial themes to classic 1970s Disney films such as The Apple Dumpling Gang, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Escape to Witch Mountain, and the original of the same nameAside from the less-than-ideal usage of country-tinged pop songs to convey the right emotions we should be feeling, and the absence of musical numbers, Pete’s Dragon is a solidly executed and delightful adventure.

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Spinning Platters Interview: Seth Rogen and Will Reiser on “50/50”

Will Reiser and Seth Rogen on the set of 50/50

Have you ever watched a cancer movie and thought, “You know what this needs? More dick jokes!” If so, 50/50 is the cancer movie for you. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Adam, who seems to have his life together: he works for a public radio station in Seattle, he has a devoted (if obnoxious) best friend, Kyle (Seth Rogen), and a beautiful girlfriend, Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard). But when Adam is suddenly diagnosed with cancer, his life begins to fall apart. His relationship with Rachael becomes increasingly strained, he is assigned a counselor named Katherine (Anna Kendrick) who is barely out of diapers, his overbearing mother (Anjelica Huston) won’t leave him alone, and Kyle keeps using Adam’s cancer to get himself laid. And if that sounds like too irreverent of a storyline for a film about cancer, then take it up with screenwriter Will Reiser. Because it’s inspired by his life.

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