Movie Review: THE RULE OF JENNY PEN

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 03/07/2025
THE RULE OF JENNY PEN movie poster | ©2025 IFC Films

Rating: R Stars: John Lithgow, Geoffrey Rush, Tony Garfield Writers: Eli Kent and James Ashcroft, based on the short story by Owen Marshall Director: James Ashcroft Distributor: IFC Films Release Date: March 7, 2025 THE RULE OF JENNY PEN is quietly harrowing. The pace is deliberate and there’s almost no blood, but the setting – a New Zealand “retirement home” – is soul-bruising even before we get to its unique horror. Judge Stefan Mortensen (Geoffrey Rush) is proud of his profession and position. But one day, as he pronounces a sentence in his courtroom, he suffers a debilitating stroke. Determined […]Read On »


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Movie Review: CONCLAVE

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 10/25/2024
CONCLAVE movie poster | ©2024 Focus Features

Rating: PG Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati, Brian F. O’Byrne, Isabella Rossellini, Sergio Castellitto, Carlos Diehz, Balkissa Maiga Writer: Peter Straughan, based on the novel by Robert Harris Director: Edward Berger Distributor: Focus Features Release Date: October 25, 2024 Just in time for the American presidential election comes the political thriller CONCLAVE. People who love this genre but are about to weep at what’s happening in the U.S. may be reassured on hearing that the politics here surround the election of the new Catholic Pope in the Vatican, after the previous one dies unexpectedly. Indeed, this […]Read On »


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THE OLD MAN: Executive producers Warren Littlefield and Dan Shotz on Season 2 – Exclusive interview

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 09/12/2024
Jeff Bridges as Dan Chase in THE OLD MAN - Season 2 | ©2024 FX / Kurt Iswarienko

In THE OLD MAN, which has its second-season premiere on FX Thursday, September 12 (with episodes available the following day on Hulu), Jeff Bridges stars as Dan Chase. In Season 1, Dan was a retired CIA agent suddenly being pursued by both his own former colleagues and unknown attackers. In Season 2, Dan must team up with CIA Assistant Director Harold Harper, played by John Lithgow, to find the missing agent Angela Adams, aka Emily Chase (Alia Shawkat), Dan’s daughter and Harold’s protégé, Emily has been kidnapped and taken to Afghanistan. THE OLD MAN was adapted for television by Jonathan […]Read On »


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Movie Review: CABRINI

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 03/22/2024
CABRINI movie poster | ©2024 Angel Studios

Rating: PG-13 Stars: Cristiana Dell’Anna, David Morse, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Federico Ialapi, Virginia Bocelli, Rolando Villazón, Giancarlo Giannini, John Lithgow, Jeremy Bobb, Liam Campora, Patch Darragh Writer: Rod Barr, story by Rod Barr & Alejandro Monteverde Director: Alejandro Monteverde Distributor: Angel Studios Release Date: March 8, 2024 In addition to the obligatory “based on a true story,” CABRINI begins by informing us that, “Between 1889 and 1910, over two million Italians immigrated to the United States.” The opening crawl goes on to say that, in America, the Italian immigrants were discriminated against, thought to be mentally backward due to their […]Read On »


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THE UNICORN: Creators Bill Martin and Mike Schiff on new Walton Goggins series – Exclusive Interview

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 09/27/2019
Walton Goggins in THE UNICORN | ©2019 CBS/Monty Brinton

THE UNICORN, the half-hour comedy premiering on CBS Thursday, September 26, stars Walton Goggins as the title character, Wade Felton. It should be noted that there is nothing magical, or equine, about Wade. However, he is still a rare creature: a devoted family man, raising two young daughters, who is romantically available after a year of mourning the death of his wife Jill. Wade’s friends, one couple portrayed by Rob Corddry and Michaela Watkins, the other couple played by Omar Benson Miller and Maya Lynne Robinson, are determined to help Wade – who has not been on a date since […]Read On »


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Movie Review: PET SEMATARY (2019)

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 04/05/2019
PET SEMATARY (2019) movie poster | ©2019 Paramount Pictures

Rating: R Stars: Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, Jete Laurence, Hugo Lavoie, Lucas Lavoie, John Lithgow, Obssa Ahmed, Alyssa Levine Writer: Jeff Buhler, screen story by Matt Greenberg, based on the novel by Stephen King Directors: Kevin Kolach and Dennis Widmeyer Distributor: Paramount Release Date: April 5, 2019 Stephen King’s 1983 novel PET SEMATARY was adapted as a film once before, in 1989, with King writing the screenplay and Mary Lambert directing. Lambert also directed a 1992 sequel, scripted by Richard Outten. Now we’ve got a new adaptation of PET SEMATARY from the directing team Kevin Kolach and Dennis Widmeyer, from […]Read On »


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Movie Review: THE ACCOUNTANT

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 10/14/2016
THE ACCOUNTANT movie poster | ©2016 Warner Bros.

Rating: R Stars: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, John Lithgow, Jean Smart Writer: Bill Dubuque Director: Gavin O’Connor Distributor: Warner Bros. Release Date: October 14, 2016 The intentions behind THE ACCOUNTANT are broadly good. The filmmakers want to show the audience that people on the autism spectrum can be just as capable, if not more so, than neuro-typical (non-autistic) folks. There are certainly plenty of examples of autistic people who are extraordinarily gifted in fields like math and music. Rather than giving us another “very special” drama, director Gavin O’Connor, writer Bill Dubuque […]Read On »


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Blu-ray Review: RAISING CAIN

By CARL CORTEZ 10/13/2016
RAISING CAIN Blu-ray | ©2016 Shout! Factory

Stars: John Lithgow, Lolita Davidovich, Steven Bauer, Frances Sternhagen Writer/Director: Brian De Palma Distributor: Shout! Factory Suggested Retail Price: $24.93 I was never a huge fan of Brian De Palma’s 1992 thriller RAISING CAIN. Bringing the director back to his early thriller roots (like DRESSED TO KILL and BLOW OUT) that were drenched deeply in Alfred Hitchcock suspense and callbacks, CAIN came off as a trainwreck of a movie mixing tones and themes but never truly satisfying. Was it supposed to be a comedy? A thriller? A black comedy? A parody of other De Palma films? While there was an […]Read On »


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Movie Review: INTERSTELLAR

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 11/06/2014
INTERSTELLAR movie poster | ©2014 Paramount Pictures

Rating: PG-13 Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, John Lithgow, Mackenzie Foy Writers: Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan Director: Christopher Nolan Distributor: Paramount Release Date: November 7, 2014 The term “hard science fiction” means that the subject matter involves actual science, rather than the type of science fiction like, say, STARGATE, where the science only exists to get characters from here to there. INTERSTELLAR is a melding of hard science fiction, interpersonal drama, big action sequences and big ideas. The screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and director Christopher Nolan goes for epic scope, with the fate of both […]Read On »


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Interview: Sophie Lowe goes down the ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND rabbit hole

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 11/21/2013
Sophie Lowe in ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND | ©2013 ABC/Bob D'Amico

ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND, on ABC Thursdays at 8 PM, takes place in the same overall universe as ONCE UPON A TIME, but it’s very much its own story. Created by ONCE inventors Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, along with Zack Estrin and Jane Espenson, WONDERLAND gives us an Alice, played by Sophie Lowe as a young woman, who has found true love in Wonderland with Cyrus (Peter Gadiot), the Genie of the Lamp. When Alice wrongly believed she’d seen Cyrus die, she went back to her version of England, where doctors are threatening to lobotomize her into […]Read On »


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