Melanie Dishman's archive

Latest superhero movie lives up to its name

Wonder Woman

‘Wonder Woman’

Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine

Directed by: Patty Jenkins

Rated: PG-13

 

As superheroes go, I was never very fond of Wonder Woman. As imagined in the old TV show starring Lynda Carter, the costume was a skimpy, satin, patriotic, sexist invention. And her superpowers were a couple of cuffs, a shield and a lasso? What’s so special about that?

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Summer Lovin’

Guardians of the Galaxy 2

If you’re in the movie business, summer starts way before the official date. The sequel to “Guardians of the Galaxy” is slaying it at the box office right now, and there will soon be others vying for the top prize of highest grossing movie of the summer. Among the big blockbusters yet to come are the usual fare of superheroes—”Wonder Woman” (June 2) and “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (July 7).

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Can we circle back and cancel the green light for this movie?

‘The Circle’

Starring: Tom Hanks, Emma

Watson, Patton Oswalt

Directed by: James Ponsoldt

Rated: PG-13

 

Intended as a cautionary tale about the intrusion of social media technology in our personal lives, this is nothing more than a clumsy melodrama that would have fit better into the Lifetime schedule than a theater release.

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Netflix offers documentarians access to wider audience

The documentary genre never gets its due unless one wins an Academy Award and garners a lot of attention. Rarely are they released to theaters, so filmmakers have to rely on other platforms for their work to be seen. Netflix and cable outlets have been haves for documentaries, widening viewership and bringing attention to subject matter that is as relevant as it is provocative.

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Pay check movie for three characters and the actors who play them

Consider this a little in-between-seasons truffle before the summer movies hit theaters. Spring is always a mixed bag of movies that range from pretty good to awful and run the gamut of genres: horror, humor and animation. Some recent ones have been surprisingly good like “Life,” the sci-fi horror movie, and “Boss Baby,” the DreamWorks animated feature with Alec Baldwin.

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