Mara Reinstein

2.5 stars (out of 4) The timing couldn’t be better for a superheroine origin story on Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At 85 years old, she’s the glass ceiling-shattering figure of hope who has bipartisan respect and pop-culture hipster appeal. She’s the Notorious RBG, for crying out loud! But while On the Basis of […]

Roma, baby. Roma all day and all the way. I feel so confident that Alfonso Cuaron’s much-lauded black-and-white love letter to his Mexican upbringing will win Best Foreign Language Film that I consider it a free space on the Golden Globes Bingo Card. Otherwise, this year’s movie nomination list is a frustrating and fascinating crap shoot of […]

I interrupt your New Year’s resolution to adapt to a plant-based diet to bring an important announcement: The 2019 movie lineup has the potential to be epic with an explanation point. Just consider, for example, that you will get follow-ups to beloved classics such as Toy Story, Star Wars, Frozen and Avengers — and that’s […]

Keep in mind that sitting through a terrible movie in one of those reclining leather lounge chairs is still more pleasant than 99.999999 percent of all other time-consuming activities. I’m here today to vent about that .0000001 percent. (Well, .0000002 percent if you count Gotti, which still sits at 0 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and […]

1.5 stars (out of 4) When Steve Carell hosted Saturday Night Live in November, he neglected to plug Welcome to the Marwen in his monologue. Now I understand why. His new film is gooey dreck that attempts to be a quirky comedy, an earnest drama and a warm-hearted fantasy about the Nazis — and fails […]

3 stars (out of 4) A new Transformers movie is here. For the past 11 years, the meaning behind that sentence has ranked up there with “The wind chill makes it feel like 2 degrees.” Don’t need it, don’t want it. But Bumblebee, a would-be prequel, is most definitely not a bombastic and soulless monster. […]

3 stars (out of 4) When it comes to villains, former Vice President Dick Cheney makes Darth Vader seem like a cuddly teddy bear. The visually unassuming man, described early on as “monotone bureaucrat,” decided to start a war all for the wrong reasons. Gave the green light to torture foreigners, relying on semantics to […]

3.5 stars (out of 4) Don’t worry, Mary Poppins is here. And though the stylish British nanny looks different than you may remember, she’s still super-talented at bringing eye-popping wonder and whimsy into the lives of everyone around her. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, in fact. That’s why the best thing you could do for yourself right now is […]

2 stars (out of 4) When you get motion sickness on a choppy boat, you’re supposed to stare out at the horizon. Experts say that the fixated sight will immediately calm the senses. For the wildly unstable Aquaman, I suggest you keep your eyes on star Jason Momoa. He’s a hirsute beast of a man […]

I wasn’t knocked out by Creed II, and I didn’t sniffle at the end of A Star Is Born even though Ally belts out that power ballad Jackson Maine wrote just for her. It’s important to reveal these confessions up high and before we get into the list. Truth is, 100 people could see the […]

2 stars (out of 4) Natalie Portman is prancing around on an arena stage in a glittery unitard with silver sequins pasted over her eye brows. As preening pop star Celeste in Vox Lux, the petite and prim Oscar winner —singing and dancing to original music composed by Sia — pushes herself to outsized Gaga-like […]

3 stars (out of 4) This is an ideal time to remind you that Julia Roberts is a world-class movie star. The rare unicorn kind that can change the molecules in a room just by standing in it. Her films aren’t just good, they’re beloved. As someone once put it, she’s a “human empathy generator.” […]

2.5 Stars (out of 4) There’s exactly one Great Scene, and it arrives near the end. That’s when cousins and rivals Mary Queen of Scots (Saoirse Ronan) and Queen Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie) finally meet — on neutral ground — for an intense heart-to-heart. It’s staged in a dreamy maze of fabric to hide Elizabeth’s […]

3 stars (out of 4) If you think the quickest way to a queen’s heart is through her 17 pet bunny rabbits then have I got the movie for you. The Favourite may seem like a stuffy period piece on its opulent surface — even its title screams “I’m an Oscar movie!” — but this […]

3.5 stars (out of 4) From one of the dudes that brought you There’s Something About Mary, Shallow Hal and Dumb & Dumber comes . . . a crowd-pleaser that’s both wonderful and meaningful. Believe it. Green Book, directed and co-written by Peter Farrelly, already earned enthusiastic standing ovations at the Toronto International Film Festival […]

When Rocky Balboa talks, you sit up and pay attention. So there’s actual gravitas to a cheesy line like, “If you want change something big, you have to make big changes.” If only Creed II would have adhered to the legendary boxing champ’s advice! I grant you that the latest chapter in the Rocky saga […]

3 stars (out of 4) Escaping into the totally awesome universe of 1980s arcade games is soooo six years ago. That’s why Ralph Breaks the Internet is cutting the cord and going Wifi. The lively sequel to Wreck It Ralph, which features the continuing adventures of lovable lug Ralph (John C. Reilly) and scrappy Vanellope […]

3 stars (out of 4) Perhaps it’s easier to start off this Instant Family review in “could have” terms. The comedy could have been treacly disaster. It also could have provoked angry responses about why, in 2018, we need to see the story of yet another affluent white couple caring for underprivileged kids. It could […]

4 stars (out of 4) Consider Widows a more electric, less-frothy version of the caper Ocean’s 8 . . . only it’s infinitely better than that sounds. In fact, referring to it as a caper veers on insult. Let’s instead call it a superbly crafted thriller featuring a blockbuster cast — I think Colin Farrell […]

2 stars (out of 4) The name is Salander. Lizbeth Salander. In The Girl in the Spider’s Web, the millennium’s finest Swedish punk-rock hacker vigilante (Claire Foy) dodges bullets and stage-five explosions while chasing the bad guys in a manner that would please James Bond himself. Mind you, the agent would also throw a shaken […]

The Front Runner 2.5 stars (out of 4) We’re knee-deep in Oscar season now, which means that a prestige drama titled The Front Runner begets high expectations. A former presidential hopeful named Gary Hart once had high expectations too. In 1988, the U.S. senator from Colorado had the youthful good looks, charm and the political […]