Long before there was such a thing as ESPN – heck, long before cable TV or sports being branded as “eXtreme,” filmmaker Warren Miller was making sports documentaries from the ski slopes of this country and around the world. Even if you were a kid growing up in Texas, probably…
Read MoreVanilla Fudge Drop Remastered Version of Zeppelin’s ‘Rock and Roll’
I love me some Hammond B-3 organ, I love keys – but 60s rock organ has never appealed to me. Doors, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple – all bands whose music kinda lost me with too much of that kind of organ at the top of the mix. I have to…
Read MoreReview: ‘Biggie: I Got A Story to Tell’ Has A Lot You Know, But Some You Don’t
Those most interested in the material will already know most of his story, but the new documentary ‘Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell’ dishes out numerous revelations for those who only know the hits and the fact that he was gunned down at the age of 24, about 6…
Read MoreReview: ‘The Sinner’ Season 3. Weird in a Good Way.
Originally planned as an 8 part mini-series on the USA Network, ‘The Sinner’ turned into something much more- a satisfying anthology mystery series with well-written, offbeat stories and Bill Pullman, playing Detective Harry Ambrose, always at the core. Pullam is what I call “Good Weird,” and the show, like the…
Read MoreOscar Nominee Review: ‘The Father’ Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman Shine
You don’t expect a film about a character with dementia to be haunting, but there are moments in ‘The Father’ that literally gave me chills. It’s not because this is a horror film, it’s because the movie tells parts of its story through the point of view of the character,…
Read MoreThe Handmaid’s Tale Season 4. Watch the Full Official Trailer
I was very late to the game on Handmaid’s Tale, but it hooked me pretty quickly when I finally started. It just seemed like the perfect show for a country caught in the grasp of an Authoritarian. The things we as a country were going through, mothers and children separated,…
Read MoreSome Muslim Actors are Finally Playing Themselves Onscreen. Is There Room for More?
It wasn’t so long ago that Hollywood was painting Caucasian actors’ faces to play Native Americans. It wasn’t so long ago that Latino actors were cast to play Arabs and/or Mid-eastern nationalities. Things are definitely changing. Check out this release. At the bottom is the email address to contact them:…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘I Care A Lot’ – How Dark is Too Dark?
At what point does “dark comedy” become so dark that it’s no longer funny? That’s a line that ‘I Care A Lot’ tiptoes on for two hours, occasionally flailing its arms and falling off to one side. It’s an interesting watch because the film skillfully plays with your expectations, but…
Read MoreOscar Nominee Review: Is ‘Nomadland’ the Best Picture?
It’s so low-key and observational that you worry all the hype will work against people’s expectations. I hope not. Nomadland, officially a 2020 release for awards purposes, is, yes, I’ll say it, one of the year’s very best films. On my personal list, it’s moved just ahead of Promising Young…
Read MoreConcert Cruises Are Selling New Shows. Are You Ready to Set Sail Yet?
Before the days of Covid – music vacation cruises were more popular than ever and still on the rise. It sounds like a fun idea: spend a few days or a week on a cruise ship with some of your favorite musical artists. Who knows, maybe you’ll bump into them…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘Test Pattern’ 3 out of 4 Stars.
Self-branded as a “Psychological Thriller,” perhaps because this is a film not easily categorized, ‘Test Pattern’ is in no way a thriller. But is it interesting? Does it examine territory rarely represented in the movies? Yes and yes. Very much an art-house film, but gorgeously wrought and with an amazing…
Read MoreWolfgang Van Halen Drops Two Singles +Album Release Date. Listen Here!
There is no bigger Michael Anthony fan than I. It’s true that he was the only one of the original band who didn’t look like a rockstar, but he could sing his balls off. Those high harmonies that he contributed are as important to the VH signature as Eddie’s guitar…
Read More‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Graphic Novels Coming with Movie’s Release
There’s actually so much new stuff coming out that I’ll start with the calendar so we don’t get lost. The movie is scheduled to be theatrically released internationally on March 26, 2021, and in the United States on March 31, where it will be released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO…
Read MoreOscar Nominee Review: ‘Minari’ – Heartwarming, Heartbreaking
Director Lee Isaac Chung is already racking up the accolades this awards season with his semi-autobiographical film, Minari. It’s true that there are certain touchstones present in every immigrant story – I was just thinking about Barry Levinson’s Avalon (already more than 30 years old) and how, even though his…
Read MoreReview: French Exit – Just A Oui Bit Weird, But Ooh La La
I like it when characters don’t give a shit whether you like them or not. It gives them the freedom to be their authentic (fictional) selves. French Exit is populated with such characters. They’re not super sweet – at times they’re not even polite or nice – but they’re good…
Read MoreReview: ‘America’s Last Little Italy: The Hill’ 3 out of 4 Stars
Don’t you just love it when you watch something that gives you lots of “gee, I didn’t know that” moments? Unless you’re from the area, you may have never heard of the place this documentary calls “America’s Last Little Italy.” Most of what we do know seems to be through…
Read MoreDocumentary ‘Fake Famous’ Reveals the Secrets to Becoming A Social Media Influencer
And they’ve built you up till you fool yourselfThat you’re somethin’ else, and it’s like a curse‘Cause you can’t live up to what they made of youAnd they tell ya that you’re losin’ friends You don’t lose when you lose fake friends ‘Fake Friends’ by Joan Jett and Kenny Laguna…
Read MoreReview: ‘Malcolm & Marie’ Once is More Than Enough
I watched with interest, curiosity, and admiration. But when it ended, I knew that ‘Malcolm & Marie, now on Netflix, is a film that I will never see again. In the end, exasperation eclipsed all other emotions. Beautifully presented in high contrast black and white, the film is essentially a…
Read MoreReview: ‘Al Davis vs The NFL’ | A Stylish Look at the Glory Days | 3 out of 4 Stars
I hated Oakland Raiders team owner Al Davis at the time, and except for George Blanda and Fred Biletnikoff, I never liked any Raiders players. I was young, but still. So it’s a testament to director Ken Rodgers’ skill as a storyteller that one comes to feel affection for the…
Read MoreReview: ‘The Night’ Interesting But Not Scary
I don’t know if they make bad movies in Iran, but I have yet to see one…and I’ve seen a lot. That said, the new film ‘The Night’ by noted director Kourosh Ahari isn’t wholly satisfying if one is expecting something super scary. If you go in with expectations more…
Read MoreReview: ‘The Little Things’ with Denzel, Rami and Jared. 2 out of 4 Stars.
Normally, this is the kind of movie I really like; the genre, the look, the cast. But somehow “The Little Things” goes down as a disappointment. Not for lack of talent. I mean three Oscar winners in the cast, all of whom deliver exactly the performances you expect from them.…
Read MoreWatch This Doc About the Great Eva Cassidy Here for Free
I just found out, thanks to my friend, Jeff – there’s a documentary about the late, great Eva Cassidy, and you can watch it free, right now, right here: A new article by the great John Kelly in the Washington Post tells the story of Eva beautifully, just just a…
Read MoreReview: The Lady and the Dale – Take This Ride!!
If The Lady and the Dale were just about a talented con-man who learned the art of the hustle at an early age, it would be worth watching. If it were just about that same grifter and his wife and 5 kids constantly moving from one part of the country…
Read MoreReview: New Prog Rock Supergroup Arc of Life Make the Music Accessible
Just the other day, I mentioned to a fellow music nerd that the genre that would surely put me to sleep the fastest would be early 70s Prog Rock from the likes of Genesis and YES. To be fair, I was talking about songs clocking in at over twenty minutes.…
Read MoreMovie Review: Go/Don’t Go 1½ out of 4 Stars
Your mind wanders as you watch Go/Don’t Go, the low-budget Indie written, starring and directed by Alex Knapp, in which it is gradually revealed that he’s the last man on earth, so far as we can tell. Adam (Knapp) is the only guy around. He lives inside his head, remembering…
Read MoreReview: “One Night in Miami” |The Oscar Buzz is Real
Clay had defeated reigning heavyweight champ Sonny Liston just the night before, but each man was at the top of his respective game. And yet, they endured the kinds of indignities that no amount of success could alter: the color of their skin.
Read More‘Assassins’ Review: Is Truth More Bizarre Than Fiction?
By Kyle Osborne If we have learned anything in this age in which we live, it should be: Everything is being recorded on camera, everywhere, all the time. And The recordings rarely tell the whole story. Because of these two bits of reality, documentary filmmaker Ryan White, of whom I…
Read MoreOscar Nominee Review: “Promising Young Woman” A Must See!
By Kyle Osborne Do NOT watch the trailer for this movie. Don’t read any reviews that would spoil it (I promise no spoilers. I mean, never spoilers) and don’t ask anyone about it. Just watch Promising Young Woman as blindly as possible. I’m so glad that I saw it knowing…
Read MoreReview: Kick Ass Movie “Rock Camp” Released Today On Demand!
Review: Rock Camp | 3 out of 4 Stars | Not Rated By Kyle Osborne A cynical person would say that “Rock Camp” is really just a long infomercial for Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp, and maybe it is. But I don’t care – the ordinary people who attend these…
Read MoreReview: “The Marksman” Hits Just One Target
By Kyle Osborne You know, sometimes all you want from a movie is for it to be completely predictable. You want the good guy to wear a white hat and the bad guy to twirl his handlebar moustache. You don’t want one.single.thing to happen that hasn’t been telegraphed in advance.…
Read MoreReview: MLK/FBI 4 Stars. Gripping and Revealing
Review: MLK/FBI | Gripping and Revealing By Kyle Osborne More than half a century after his assassination, one would have thought that we’d seen and heard all there was to learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. Certainly anyone past grade school can recite at least one of the civil rights…
Read MoreReview: “Zappa” Documentary Not Just For Hardcore Fans| 3 ½ out of 4 Stars
Review: Zappa | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Not Rated | By Kyle Osborne When I was 21 years old, I interviewed Frank Zappa backstage before a show in Brussels, Belgium. He was not happy to be there. He was exactly twice my age on that night, and…
Read MoreOscar Nominee Review: “Soul” | 4 out of 4 Stars
Review: Soul | 4 out of 4 Stars | Rated PG | By Kyle Osborne “Soul,” the latest feature from Pixar Animation is deep. It’s very deep, yet it’s also delightful. How did they do that? I dunno, man. It’s magic. As amazing as the other Pixar films have been along…
Read MoreOscar Nominee Review: Mank |3 ½ out of 4 Stars
Review: Mank | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | By Kyle Osborne What I liked about “Mank” is its rhythm, – the cadence of the dialogue and the almost musical beats in the editing. Gary Oldman delivers his lines like he’s calmly snapping your neck with a rubber band.…
Read MoreOscar Nominee Review: News of the World | 2 Stars
Review: News of the World | 2 out of 4 Stars | PG-13 By Kyle Osborne It’s being billed as Tom Hanks’ first Western, but “News of the World” is simply a road movie. Like Midnight Run or Rain Man or Planes, Trains, and Automobiles…except not so great. The slow-pokey…
Read MoreReview: Wonder Woman 1984 | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars
Review: Wonder Woman 1984 | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars | PG-13 By Kyle Osborne Wonder Woman 1984 (stylized as WW84) would have been a four star movie if it’d been about an hour shorter. Alas, the considerable goodwill begins to wane heading toward the conclusion at 2 ½…
Read MoreReview: ESPN’s Doc on Women’s Football Hits Hard
By Kyle Osborne You know the Patriots, the Red Sox, the Celtics and the Bruins, but have you ever heard of the Boston Renegades? You’d be in rare company if you did. In the documentary Born to Play, which debuts July 1st at 9 EDT on ESPN, director Viridiana Lieberman…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘All I Can Say’ – Blind Melon’s Shannon Hoon Filmed His Own Doc
All I Can Say | 2 out of 4 Stars | Not Rated By Kyle Osborne The “Bee Girl” was everywhere in 1993. You couldn’t turn on MTV without seeing the video for the Blind Melon song, “No Rain.” Interspersed with the inscrutable girl were the band members, performing a…
Read MoreReview: ‘Incitement’ 3 out of 4 Stars
By Kyle Osborne How does a young man go from being a promising law student with a nice girlfriend to a Right Wing zealot who thinks he’s doing God’s work by killing the Prime Minister of Israel? The new film “Incitement” takes us through those steps, many of which must…
Read MoreReview: Color Out of Space | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars | NR
Color Out of Space | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars | Not Rated By Kyle Osborne If you go into Color Out of Space completely blind, the sci-fi thriller plays almost like a Roger Corman B-movie; sort of overcooked, yet under developed. All of it punctuated by Nicolas Cage…
Read MoreThey Call Me Mister: How I Ended Up On a Remote Island in the Java Sea.
From Kyle Osborne They call me “Mister.” I mean, to be fair, they call all Caucasian guys “Mister” here on the tiny Indonesian island of Belitung. It sounds like they’re mimicking dialogue from a 1930’s Film Noir. ,”Hey Mister,” they call out as they whiz by on their scooters, genuinely excited…
Read MoreReview: “Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound”| 3 ½ out of 4 Stars |
By Kyle Osborne Every year at the Oscars comes the few minutes where we fidget, or go to the bathroom or check to see if we’re winning the office Oscar pool. I speak of the hurried acceptance speeches of the winners for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. Usually…
Read MoreReview: The Irishman | 4 out of 4 Stars | Rated R
By Kyle Osborne You might well say that director Martin Scorsese is plowing familiar ground in The Irishman, an epic mobster movie that features his two legendary go-to guys: Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. But, come on, who would you rather see at the helm of a 3 ½…
Read MoreReview: ‘Joker’ | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R
“Joker”| 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne I trashed my original review-I did the present day version of ripping the paper from the typewriter, noisily wadding the paper into a ball and chucking it in the trash can. Why? Because I had fallen into…
Read MoreReview: Where’s My Roy Cohn? | 3 out of 4 Stars
Where’s My Roy Cohn? | 3 out of 4 Stars | Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne Attorney Roy Cohn died more than 30 years ago, yet his presence, or rather his lack of presence, looms large in the current White House. Cohn, after all, was once the mentor to New…
Read MoreReview: “Good Boys” is good, (not so) clean fun | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars
Review: “Good Boys”| 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne Remember back in 2004 when the Tony Award-winning musical “Avenue Q” was all the rage? The writers hit upon a novel idea that worked: take something innocent like warm, fuzzy puppets…and make them say the most…
Read MoreReview: ‘David Crosby: Remember My Name’| 3 ½ out of 4 Stars |
Review: ‘David Crosby: Remember My Name’| 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne “I was an asshole,” David Crosby says about himself in the revelatory documentary ‘David Crosby: Remember My Name’, and, indeed, the next 90 minutes don’t offer anyone who will argue against that point.…
Read MoreReview: ‘Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw’ | 2 out of 4 Stars |
Review: ‘Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw’ | 2 out of 4 Stars | Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne For about a solid 90 minutes into the two hour and seventeen minute Fast & Furious spin-off, the abundant goodwill generated by Dwayne Johnson (Hobbs) and Jason Statham (Shaw) is…
Read MoreReview: ‘Once Upon A Time in Hollywood’ | 3 out of 4 Stars | Rated R
‘Once Upon A Time in…Hollywood’ | 3 out of 4 Stars | Rated R| 2hr 40min By Kyle Osborne Quentin Tarantino’s ninth feature film is like a big ass, vintage Cadillac: the ride is so smooth and easy, you may not notice or even care how long it takes you…
Read MoreReview: Midsommar | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R
Midsommar | 3 ½ out 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne Once or twice a year, when a movie ends and the credits roll, you find yourself saying, “Holy crap! What the hell was that?” It’s when a director swings for the fences and makes something that isn’t…
Read MoreReview: Yesterday | 3 out 4 Stars | Rated PG-13
Review: Yesterday | 3 out 4 Stars | Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne At its core, Yesterday is a sweet British rom-com with one helluva soundtrack. If the news of the world and the current state of affairs have got you down, this good natured confection might be the perfect…
Read MoreReview: Being Frank | 1 out of 4 Stars |
Being Frank| 1 out of 4 Stars| Rated R By Kyle Osborne If a certain someone in the Oval Office were reviewing the new comedy Being Frank, he might accurately describe it as “low energy.” As a comedy, it doesn’t get many laughs, and as a family drama, it’s too…
Read MoreReview: First to the Moon | 3 out of 4 Stars|
Review: First to the Moon| 3 out of 4 Stars| Not rated By Kyle Osborne Serviceable, though not quite cinematic, First to the Moon, nevertheless, tells the Apollo 8 story with as much accuracy and detail as one could hope for. That’s mainly thanks to all three of its astronauts,…
Read MoreReview: Halston | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars|
Halston | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars| Not Rated By Kyle Osborne I learned that he had a first name- it was Roy. And I learned that he was the biggest American designer of his day in the 70s, before falling prey to the two things that cut down…
Read MoreReview: Echo in the Canyon | 3 out of 4 Stars
Echo in the Canyon | 3 out of 4 Stars| PG-13 (for drug references and some suggestive content) By Kyle Osborne We are living in a Golden Age of music documentaries. Maybe it’s just a function of so many streaming services needing content to fill out their programming? Maybe filmmakers…
Read MoreReview: The Russian Five | 3 out of 4 Stars
The Russian Five | 3 out of 4 Stars| Not Rated By Kyle Osborne The true test of whether a sports documentary has done its job comes down to this: did the filmmakers make you care about the athletes on a team in which you are otherwise completely uninterested? Legendary…
Read MoreReview: Finding Steve McQueen| 2 out of 4 Stars | Rated PG
Finding Steve McQueen| 2 out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne It’s based on a fascinating true story that would make a terrific documentary for NetFlix. Alas, the story told as a semi-comedic, semi-fictionalized, Indie flick is uneven and not quite lively enough for the big screen–it,…
Read MoreReview: Mary Poppins Returns | 3 out of 4 Stars
Mary Poppins Returns| 3 out of 4 Stars | Rated PG By Kyle Osborne This is a challenge for someone my age–someone who remembers the original in its earliest days, if not its actual premiere (that part is fuzzy), because it’s impossible for a “sequel” to match that initial experience.…
Read MoreReview: Bohemian Rhapsody | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars
Bohemian Rhapsody | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne Man, I really, really wanted to love this movie. I’ve loved Queen and Freddie Mercury since 7th grade. Seared in my memory is seeing the video for the song Bohemian Rhapsody when it was first…
Read MoreReview: Mid90s | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars
Mid90s | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars |Rated R By Kyle Osborne It’s hard not to feel affection for actor Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, even though Mid90s is scruffy, rough around the edges, and feels more like a draft than a finished film. It’s not for everybody, but if…
Read MoreReview: First Man | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars
First Man | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne Neil Armstrong was the rock star of his day, only with way better demographics and none of the glamour. An uncontroversial All-American with a brilliant mind and an aw-shucks demeanor, Armstrong was apple pie personified.…
Read MoreReview: A Star Is Born | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars
A Star Is Born | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne I’m several days late in posting a review of A Star IS Born, which currently has a favorable score of 91% on RottenTomatoes.com, and certainly doesn’t need any help from me. However, I…
Read MoreTheatre Review: ‘Heisenberg’ at Signature Theatre
Heisenberg | 3 out of 4 Stars | Signature Theatre By Kyle Osborne Walking into Signature Theatre’s smaller house, The ARK, you can’t help but notice that there’s a bed in the center of the room…and that you won’t be more than a few rows from it, no matter where…
Read MoreReview: ‘Venom’ 2 out of 4 Stars
Venom | 2 out of 4 Stars | Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne For my money, Tom Hardy is as interesting an actor as anyone currently in the business. He works economically, his performances are well-calibrated with charisma that burns through the lens- even when he’s not saying a word.…
Read MoreReview: ‘Macbeth’ at Folger Theatre. There Will Be Blood
Macbeth by William Shakespeare |3 out of 4 Stars|Folger Theatre By Kyle Osborne This article isn’t for people who know their Shakespeare cold. For knowledgeable theatre goers, read this take on the play and music. No, this is for those who only kinda recognize the quotes below, and will be…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘Peppermint’ …Please, Make It Schnapp
Peppermint| 1 out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne You have to hand it to Peppermint, the latest version of Death Wish/Equalizer, starring the always likable Jennifer Garner: It never settles for mediocre when it can go for full blown horrible instead. Virtually every move by Director…
Read MoreReview: Never Goin’ Back | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars
Never Goin’ Back | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne It’s an odd, but engaging film that mixes an Indie character study vibe with elements of a gross-out, buddy film. I suppose there is some novelty in having two teenaged girls discussing poop, pooping,…
Read MoreReview: ‘The Meg’ 2 out of 4 Stars
The Meg | 2 out of 4 Stars | Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne Not quite good enough to be “good” and not quite bad enough to be “bad”, The Meg, nevertheless, finds a space somewhere between JAWS and Sharknado as a decent diversion for summer moviegoers. Especially as seen…
Read MoreReview: Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti 2 out of 4 Stars
“Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti” | 2 out of 4 Stars | Rated R By Kyle Osborne Van Gogh, Michelangelo, Picasso: scores of biopics about noted artists have been made, but as I search my oft-failing memory for one that was 100% successful, none comes to mind. At least Gauguin is…
Read MoreReview: ‘The Scottsboro Boys’ at Signature Theatre 3 out of 4 Stars
The Scottsboro Boys | Signature Theatre | 3 out of 4 Stars By Kyle Osborne Kander and Ebb were/are/forever will be known for Cabaret and Chicago and for the song New York, New York, among their large and celebrated body of work. Less well known is their 2010 musical (which…
Read MoreReview: Ocean’s 8 | 3 out of 4 Stars
Ocean’s 8 | 3 out of 4 Stars By Kyle Osborne It’s hard to get mad at a film with such low ambitions—Ocean’s 8 only wants to be a light and fluffy summer flick, and on that score it succeeds. It’s fun and breezy and pass the popcorn. Sandra Bullock plays…
Read MoreThat Time Sandra Bullock’s Mom Called Me
By Kyle Osborne Did I ever tell you about the time that Sandy Bullock’s mom called me at work? I was thinking about that tonight for the first time in years as I was watching ‘Oceans 8’ (opens June 8). It was in the summer of 1995-Sandy had really broken…
Read MoreInterview: Leigh Whannell, Creator of ‘Saw’ and ‘Insidious’ Makes Cool New Movie
By Kyle Osborne If you’ve ever seen a movie with “Saw” or “Insidious” in the title since 2004, then you’ve seen the work of Leigh Whannell. Along with his producing partner, Director James Wan, Whannell has written and/or produced and, in some cases, directed films that have scared the bejeezus…
Read MoreReview: ‘Upgrade’ 3 ½ out of 4 Stars
Upgrade | 3 ½ out of 4 Stars By Kyle Osborne Director and Screenwriter Leigh Whannell, the guy (along with producing partner James Wan) whose “Saw” and “Insidious” movies have made him very rich and famous, has crafted a taut revenge thriller that is unlike those in his Horror catalog.…
Read MoreReview: ‘Saint Joan’ at Folger Theatre 3 out of 4 Stars
‘Saint Joan’ at Folger Theatre | 3 out of 4 stars By Kyle Osborne| Photos: Teresa Wood The play is quite long—this review will be short. George Bernard Shaw’s classic “Saint Joan,” a play from the 1920s about that most famous girl to have ever been burned at the stake…
Read MoreReview: Breaking In with Gabrielle Union: 2 ½ out of 4 stars
Breaking In |Gabrielle Union| 2 ½ out of 4 stars By Kyle Osborne It isn’t high art, but the unpretentious thriller Breaking In is a good version of what it is: a popcorn thriller that features a relatable heroine going against some bad guys who have unwisely messed with the…
Read MoreReview: Life of the Party with Melissa McCarthy: Zero Stars
Life of the Party | Melissa McCarthy | Zero Stars By Kyle Osborne Has anyone simultaneously generated more goodwill, yet more box office stink bombs than Melissa McCarthy? She is a gifted comedic actor and, by all accounts, a lovely person. Why does she rarely find material that takes advantage…
Read MoreReview: I Feel Pretty with Amy Schumer 3 out of 4 Stars
I Feel Pretty 3 out of 4 stars Rated PG-13 By Kyle Osborne Amy Schumer’s new comedy, “I Feel Pretty,” brings back the charming, relatable everywoman who mass audiences embraced so warmly in 2015’s similar (sort of) rom-com “Trainwreck.” This is good news. Schumer’s early years were niche-successful, but…
Read MoreMovie Review: A Quiet Place 3 out of 4 Stars
A Quiet Place 3 out of 4 stars By Kyle Osborne A Quiet Place, directed by the actor John Krasinski, who also co-stars with real-life wife Emily Blunt, may just be the most economical movie I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t tell you anything more than what you absolutely need…
Read MoreReview: The Way of the World at Folger Theatre
By Kyle Osborne The Folger Theatre has a way of amplifying the mood and tone of each play presented there. There’s something in the air inside that house that is nearly indescribable, but in the case of writer and director Theresa Rebeck’s The Way of the World, it translates into…
Read MoreEx-Mavericks Robert Reynolds on the Long Road Back
By Kyle Osborne It’s a new year that we’ve stumbled into, dazed from all that has transpired in the previous twelve months. But here we are, looking for a fresh start, putting one foot ahead of the other and striving for something better. Maybe something like redemption. Robert Reynolds knows…
Read MoreGood, Not Great: Three New Movies That Just Missed The Mark
By Kyle Osborne No, I’m not intentionally trolling and, no, I don’t think my opinion is better than yours. But this past month I’ve seen three movies that, while pretty solid, fell short of my hopes. And what were my hopes based on? They were based on the high praise…
Read MoreMovie Review: I, Tonya 4 out of 4 Stars
By Kyle Osborne I, Tonya 4 out of 4 Stars I kinda hate that this movie is being positioned as a snarky comedy in certain circles because it is so much better than that. It’s closer to a Shakespearean tragedy than an SNL skit. There are laughs, to be sure,…
Read MoreMovie Review: Molly’s Game 3 1/2 out of 4 Stars
By Kyle Osborne Molly’s Game 3 ½ out of 4 Stars Director Aaron Sorkin writes a script that snaps, crackles and pops. He loves his own words, some might say he loves his own words a little too much, but in the hands of the right actors, so do we.…
Read MoreReview: The Book of Will at Round House Theatre
NOTE: The run of the play has been extended through December 30th. By Kyle Osborne Equal parts silly and substantive, The Book of Will introduces us to the unsung heroes who got their old theatre pal’s plays–to reverse the old phrase–from the stage to the page. The fact that their…
Read MoreReview: The Shape of Water 4 out of 4 Stars
The Shape of Water 4 out of 4 stars Rated R (for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence and language) By Kyle Osborne If you’ve seen Beauty and The Beast or, really, any number of fairy tales, then there are but few surprises in director Guillermo del Toro’s beautiful The Shape…
Read MoreReview: The Disaster Artist
The Disaster Artist 3 out of 4 stars rated R (for language throughout and some sexuality/nudity) By Kyle Osborne I was trying to describe the movies The Room and The Disaster Artist to a friend who lives more than 10,000 miles away and speaks English as a second language. It…
Read MoreReview: Thor: Ragnarok – The Superhero Movie for People Not All That Into Superhero Movies
By Kyle Osborne I always go into these Marvel movies with high hopes, even though the whole Superhero/Comic Book genre is not my favorite. Not even close. What’s great about Thor: Ragnarok is that it’s the Superhero movie for people who aren’t that into Superhero movies. I really liked it.…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘American Assassin’: Just Shoot Me
American Assassin 1.5 out of 4 stars By Kyle Osborne True to its literal title, ‘American Assassin’ gets right to the point, as vacationers on a pristine beach are mowed down by gunfire from an apparent Muslim terrorist cell. The body count in the first five minutes numbers in the…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘IT’: Creepy Clown, Underground
By Kyle Osborne The guy sitting next to me at the screening for ‘IT’, the big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 novel, is about 40 years old. A professional film critic. By my count, he’s yelled out loud four separate times. “Waughh!!!,” followed by exhales heavy enough for high…
Read MoreReview: ‘The Big Sick’ : Bad Title, Great Movie
By Kyle Osborne Imagine a romantic comedy that is both romantic and, well, funny! From a genre that has disappointed so many of us starry-eyed hopefuls comes ‘The Big Sick’, a delightful, heartwarming comedy that has an incredible sense of tone and reality. Yes, it is a terrible title, but…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘Baby Driver’ One of the Year’s Best
By Kyle Osborne It’s no wonder that the fanboys were immediately gaga over “Baby Driver,” it’s a movie that is gleefully about movie making. Its flamboyant tracking shots and long takes without a cut are as attention-seeking as a bright red hot rod. The editing is frenetic and the soundtrack…
Read MoreMy Top Ten Films of 2016
Top Ten Films of 2016 By Kyle Osborne This is probably my least conventional list in years. There’s a super hero flick, a film that was “Rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes.com, and two foreign releases. Whatever, I don’t care—these were the films that moved me the most in 2016. Manchester By…
Read MoreTheatre Review: ‘Titanic’ at Signature Theatre
By Kyle Osborne After a decidedly rough 2016, you wanted some good news for the new year? Here it is: Titanic, the Tony Award-winning musical currently playing at Signature Theatre, is as glorious as you’ve heard. You think you know the ending? As the annoying Trivago commercial spokesman might say:…
Read MoreTheatre Review: ‘All The Way’ at Arena Stage
By Kyle Osborne Reckoning with the fact that Black Lives Matter. Arm-twisting to get legislation passed. Preparing for possible shenanigans at the upcoming convention. Although it sounds a lot like 2016, it’s 1964. Lyndon Johnson has become President following the assassination of John F. Kennedy several months earlier. High stakes…
Read MoreTheatre Review: ‘Destiny of Desire’ at Arena Stage: Dos Thumbs Up!
By Kyle Osborne The new theatre season has just begun and it’s already feeling exceptional. Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has started things off with a hilarious romp called Destiny of Desire. It’s sexy and silly and a lot of fun to experience. Please read my review and…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘The Visit’
By Kyle Osborne No one has rooted for M Night Shyamalan with more passion than I. ‘Unbreakable’ remains one of my favorite films of the 90’s and, of course, ‘The Sixth Sense’ made him an instant sensation. But let’s face it–he lit the fuses to numerous stink bombs over the…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘Get Hard’ – Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart Bring Up The Rear…Repeatedly
By Kyle Osborne It goes out of its way to be offensive, it takes low brow to a new low, and if you were paid a nickel for every f-bomb and anatomical reference, you’d walk out of the theatre with enough to pay for your popcorn. But “Get Hard” also…
Read MoreTheatre Review: ‘Laugh’ at Studio Theatre
Laugh, set in the Silent Film era of the 1920’s, is a love letter to pratfalls and props, to double-takes and dreams of Hollywood and striking it rich. And pies in the face. Helen Cespedes plays Mabel, a rube who would be right at home in a vintage Mountain Dew…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘The Divergent Series: Insurgent’
By Kyle Osborne Not to sound like a curmudgeon, but these so-called “Young Adult” novels turned movies sort of run together for me—which one has Jennifer Lawrence? Is she the same person as Shailene Woodley? What was the name of the one that had Harrison Ford and a kid in…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘Run All Night’ with Liam Neeson and Ed Harris 3 out of 4 Stars
By Kyle Osborne We abhor violence and murder and deadly car chases in real life. Of course we do. But put those elements in a cinematic context and you’re talking about important components of some of the greatest films in American history. ‘Run All Night’ isn’t even close to being…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’: A Warm Visit With Old Friends
By Kyle Osborne If you’re old enough to remember old TV Shows like ‘The Love Boat’ and ‘Hotel’,then you might think what I’m about to say is an insult, but it’s not…’The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ is like an extended episode of the Love Boat. Seriously. It uses the…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘Jupiter Ascending’ – Space Camp
By Kyle Osborne Note: This is not a review. It would be dishonest to say that I saw all of “Jupiter Ascending.” Don’t get me wrong, it’s the worst movie I’ve seen in recent memory, and if I were officially giving it a rating, I’d give Zero out of 4…
Read MoreTheatre Review: ‘Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery’ at Arena Stage
Is there anything wrong with a play being “Silly”? Are you kidding? Any Monty Python fan will instantly think of the “Ministry Of Silly Walks” and double over laughing. And so it is with Ken Ludwigs Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. It’s whip smart and completely sophisticated in its execution, writing and delivery.…
Read MoreReview: Donny and Marie: Christmas at the National
By Kyle Osborne Donny and Marie, the Osmond siblings who have no memory of any point in their lives when they weren’t in show business, are the last living links (along with Wayne Newton) to the part of Vegas that, itself, remains the last living link to Vaudeville. Their Vegas…
Read MoreMovie Review: “Birdman (Or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) 4 out of 4 Stars
By Kyle Osborne Like the pompous ass I can be (when I’m at my very best) I have already predicted 3 of the 5 Best Actor Nominees, which will be announced sometime in 2015. Eddie Redmayne for “The Theory of Everything” is the surest of sure things. Steve Carrell for…
Read MoreMovie Review: “The Theory of Everything” 4 out of 4 Stars. Certain Oscar Nom for Eddie Redmayne
By Kyle Osborne I know this sounds cocky, but of the 5 guys who will be nominated for Best Actor Oscars at the next Academy Awards—I’m certain I know 3 of them. The first soon to be nominee is Eddie Redmayne, who plays the celebrated scientist Stephen Hawking in “The…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘Interstellar’ 2 out of 4 Stars
By Kyle Osborne I’m not saying that the Emperor isn’t wearing any clothing, but Director Christopher Nolan is walking through the town square in a razor thin thong that his most rabid fans (whose hero worship borders on a proprietary bent) are mistaking for a three-piece suit. “Interstellar,” Nolan’s “Epic”…
Read MoreTheatre Review: ‘Elmer Gantry’ at Signature Theatre
By Kyle Osborne There is a moment in Elmer Gantry, about half way through the first act, when you realize you’re experiencing something great—something that you can’t see whenever the mood strikes you—something you can go around the corner and grab like a loaf of bread. That something (someone) is…
Read MoreMovie Review ‘Kill The Messenger’ with Jeremy Renner 2 1/2 out of 4 Stars
By Kyle Osborne There’s something appealing about thrillers involving journalists—they’re the ultimate whistle-blowers. Great films, ranging from ‘All The President’s Men” to “The Insider”, have given us portraits of “The Lone Crusader for Truth” putting his reputation if not his very life in jeopardy to expose the evil doings of…
Read MoreMovie Review: ‘The Judge’ 2 1/2 out of 4 Stars
By Kyle Osborne You couldn’t ask for a better cast, and the production is first rate-so what’s wrong with “The Judge”? The story follows a slick Chicago lawyer (Robert Downey, Jr.) who never represents innocent people because they can’t afford his services. Downey is perfectly cast as the cocky dandy…
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