“A boy’s will is the wind’s will/And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.” (Longfellow) We first see Mason (Ellar Coltrane) lying on the ground, looking up at the sky, and it is clear that his thoughts are very long indeed.  We will stay with Mason and — in an unprecedented longitudinal form of …

Continue reading “Boyhood”

The visuals are stunning, the details are witty, the 3D effects are splendid,  the songs are lively, the voice actors are top-notch, but the storyline feels like an episode of “Thomas the Tank Engine.”  That’s when it was still analog and old-school and before it went to animation, but still — especially as the gender …

Continue reading “Planes: Fire & Rescue”

The great Elaine Stritch has died at age 89. It is hard to imagine a world without that vibrant, brash, brassy, and utterly vital force of nature.  She was the kind of woman about whom it was not just apt but the highest of compliments to use terms like “classy old broad” and “great gams.” …

Continue reading “Tribute: Elaine Stritch”

Richard Linklater is one of my favorite directors.  Films like “Waking Life,” “Before Sunrise”/”Before Sunset”/”Before Midnight,” “Dazed and Confused,” “School of Rock,” “Bernie,” and “Me and Orson Welles” display his restless intelligence and remarkable range.  His latest film, “Boyhood,” was an under-the-radar twelve-year project, filming just a few days each year, so that we watch …

Continue reading “Interview: Richard Linklater of “Boyhood””

I have some adorable plushies of the little alien in “Earth to Echo” to give away! Send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Echo” in the subject line and tell me your favorite summer activity. Don’t forget your mailing address! (US addresses only) I’ll pick winners at random on July 31. You’ll even get a …

Continue reading “Contest: Win a Plushie Echo from “Earth to Echo””