Movies starring Helen Mirren

As a snapshot of 20th century history, Golda does its job. As something more eloquent and important, the film falls short of its goal. Although the title makes it sound like a bio-pic, Golda is actually a fictionalized reconstruction of one of the...

For roughly one hour, Barbie is a delightful journey into a satirical world of pastels and fluorescents, where everything is awesome and pink rules. With its Lego Movie inspired approach to bridging the “real world” with that of dolls and toys...

The second Shazam! movie, sequel to the 2019 modest success, is an undercooked casserole of cliched narrative elements, underdeveloped characters, juvenile humor, and a deus ex machina cameo. It embodies all that’s bad about modern superhero mov...

Over the years, there have been countless cinematic tellings and re-tellings of the Arthurian mythos, ranging from the sublime (Robert Bresson’s Lancelot of the Lake) to the ridiculous (by intent: Monty Python and the Holy Grail). There have been...

The full title of Hobbs & Shaw is “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.” By referencing the “parent” franchise in the name, Universal Pictures reminds viewers that this is attached to the behemoth franchise that, over the course of e...

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is a miscalculation of Magic Kingdom-sized proportions. Designed for and targeted at prepubescent girls, the holiday-themed fantasy adventure drowns in CGI, underdeveloped characters, and a plot utterly devoi...

What has been true for the past few Fast and Furious outings is even more true for this one: the films have devolved from street racing-centered action/crime thrillers into live action cartoons. Plot and character development are irrelevant. Ac...

It’s easy to understand why Collateral Beauty, at one time viewed as a potential Oscar contender, was removed from awards consideration by Warner Brothers. (They decided to dump it into theaters on the same day as Rogue One, possibly hoping no ...

Eye in the Sky provides a comprehensive cross-section of the logistics, procedures, and tolls associated with something that’s now taken for granted in modern warfare: a drone attack. For the average citizen, this seems to be a relatively straightf...

Hollywood loves stories about crusading lawyers. For as long as there have been movies, there have been courtroom dramas and, although attorneys may be regarded with skepticism in the real world, they are more often than not heroic on-screen. Althoug...