Mara Reinstein

It’s only fitting that there are two ways to look at Us. In one sense, writer/director Jordan Peele’s latest original smash is a straight-up terrifying horror film centering around the family (led by Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke) fighting a foursome of doppelgängers during an ill-fated beach vacation. But Peele also has a lot to […]

3 stars (out of 4) Is there any way writer/director Jordan Peele can possibly top his brilliant, Oscar-winning social commentary masterpiece that is Get Out? Rhetorical question. Of course he can’t. You don’t go to the sunken place twice. Like most sophomore outings, his follow-up, Us, is unwieldy and probably too ambitious for its own […]

2.5 stars (out of 4) Sometimes when you have sky-high expectations for a film, there’s nowhere to go but down. Even when the focus is a superhero — scratch that, superheroine — that flies. Enter Captain Marvel, the first female to get above-the-title treatment in the Marvel Comic Universe. That is no small deal. Her […]

Before Gossip Girl, before NYC Prep, before Rich Girls and before Avery Singer gave her mom Ramona tough love fashion advice on The Real Housewives of New York, there was Cruel Intentions. The prep school version of the French classic Dangerous Liaisons starred a raven-haired Sarah Michelle Gellar as an Upper East Side queen bee […]

The curtain has been pulled back on the personal life of Michael Jackson — and what’s exposed is a pop star that used his fame to prey upon young, impressionable boys. That’s the big takeaway of the gripping and explosive documentary Leaving Neverland, which premiered January 25 at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. […]

You know what they say about March, right? It comes in like a lion and out like an adorable flying elephant. But more about Dumbo later! After a ho-hum cinematic start to 2019 — anyone else still bummed about the disappointment that was Isn’t It Romantic? — we’re finally entering buzzy blockbuster territory. At least […]

Well, well, well. Despite a epically pitiful build-up that can only be described as a brace-for-impact disaster, the 91st annual Academy Awards ended up providing a slew of shining OMG-did-you-see-it-can’t-believe-it moments. All eight best picture nominees won at least one trophy on Sunday, February 24; Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga practically copulated on stage; Spike […]

What are we going to do about the Oscars? In the past few years, the granddaddy of all award shows has weathered unthinkably embarrassing fiascos, from #OscarsSoWhite to #EnvelopeGate. (Team La La Land forever!) The events leading up to the 91st annual event have been nothing short of a public relations disaster. Let’s go there, […]

Though it’s been nearly 20 years since 16 strangers learned how to outwit, outplay and outlast on Survivor, the veteran reality series is still capable of firsts. In Survivor: Edge of Extinction, castaways dealt a torch-snuffing blow at Tribal Council are in for a shock. During the usual walk of shame, they’ll be presented with […]

3 stars (out of 4) Can you smell what the rock is cooking?! Doesn’t matter if the answer is ‘no.’ Fighting with My Family — a recent Sundance Film Festival gem that starts with a vintage WWE clip of Dwayne Johnson bellowing his catchphrase circa 2000 — is as much about wrestling as Bird Box […]

2.5 stars out of 4 A romantic comedy is the ice cream sundae to the vegetables of a heavy period drama. Sweet and delicious and so laden with empty calories that you inevitably scold yourself for devouring it in the first place. That is, until you order it again. I’ll quit the metaphor now and […]

3 stars (out of 4) A feature-length movie based on Lego brick toys can’t possibly be anything more than a lazy, crass marketing ploy. Admit it, that was your feeling going into The Lego Movie in 2014. But the one-joke premise was on us, as the Oscar-nominated entry turned out to be delightfully fresh and […]

The 2019 edition of the Sundance Film Festival didn’t come to sit by the fire and sip hot chocolate. At 9 a.m. on the first full day, the programming director introduced the world premiere of the ultra-controversial and ultra-explicit four-hour Michael Jackson exposé Leaving Neverland and noted that licensed counselors were available in the lobby […]

Time flies when you’re performing an improvisational poetry slam about hacky sack. As if you need another reason to feel old(er), January marks the 20th anniversary of She’s All That. In one year, it will be legally allowed to drink beer. A high school spin on classics Pygmalion and My Fair Lady, the comedy followed […]

When promoting a movie, most actors and actresses talk about how extensively they researched their roles. But Zac Efron admits he didn’t have to work too hard in preparation for Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. That is, even though he was portraying notorious serial killer Ted Bundy. “I didn’t watch a lot of tapes of […]

Shia LaBeouf’s new film Honey Boy isn’t just a labor of love. It’s quite literally the story of his life. “From the minute I got out of therapy I went to work,” the Transformers star, 32, said during a Q&A session after the movie’s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, January 25. […]

There’s rich irony that Untouchable, a documentary on the rise and fall of Harvey Weinstein, made its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. For decades, the movie mogul cut an imposing figure in the mountain resort town of Park City, Utah, often throwing around big money to acquire future indie classics such as Reservoir Dogs, […]

1.5 stars (out of 4) Breaking: The McConaissance is over and out. This was a sparkling (albeit all-too-brief) period during which the eternally appealing Matthew McConaughey made a conscious decision to step back from the lightweight comedies and take ace roles in smart winners such as Magic Mike, Interstellar, True Detective, The Wolf of Wall […]

If you’re Roma director Alfonso Cuaron right now, you’re popping every single bottle of champagne at your disposal and crafting gracious statements about how honored you are to be included in high company. If you’re Emily Blunt, you’re wondering what you must do to snag just one Oscar nod in your lifetime. (Perhaps play a […]

2 stars (out of 4) Fans who watched the first Glass trailer at last summer’s Comic-Con presentation went berserk over the sight. There they were, all three characters of M. Night Shyamalan’s superhero world, reluctantly sitting next to each other in a sparse room. Kevin (James McAvoy) has 20 different personalities, including the vicious beast […]

2.5 stars (out of 4) The backstory is infinitely more fascinating than the story itself. The Upside had its world premiere on a Sunday night in early September at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Stars Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman took the stage inside the prestigious Roy Thompson Hall to help introduce it. A […]