Melanie Dishman's archive

In the Dark with Melanie Dishman: Wish I was Here

This second feature from the “Scrubs” guy show more depth than his first attempt, “Garden State,” which is an improvement — but there is room for more. Zach Braff, who wrote this script with his brother Adam, also directs and stars in this as Aidan Bloom, an out-of-work actor married with two children. His wife, Sarah (Kate Hudson), works at a menial city job so Aidan can continue to pursue his dream of acting, but his last job was a dandruff commercial months ago, and the future is not looking good.

In the Dark with Melanie Dishman: Humans play second fiddle to simians in ‘Ape’ reboot

This is some monkey business with the apes getting top billing over the humans in this second installment of the “Apes” reboot. But you can’t say Andy Serkis doesn’t deserve the honor. Call him the king of motion capture for his uncanny ability to create computer-generated creatures through body movement.

In the Dark: Heavy moments seem out of place in 'Tammy'

After seeing this I’ve come to the conclusion that while Susan Sarandon is incapable of making a bad movie, she can certainly be in one. As Tammy’s beer guzzling granny, she elevates this to “just bearable” status, and that in itself is kind of sad because I’m a Melissa McCarthy fan.

In the Dark with Melanie Dishman: 'Chef'

Jon Favreau, the beefy actor who is usually more behind the camera these days, stars in his own project as Carl Casper, a L.A. chef on the rise who is not without ego. It’s a great premise to launch what amounts to a feel-good foodie fest that wraps a road/buddy pic into a romcom — all of which together makes for a tasty dish.

In the Dark with Melanie Dishman: 'Jersey Boys'

A great story wrapped in a plain brown wrapper is what you’ll get with Clint Eastwood’s film version of the great Broadway hit of “Jersey Boys.” The jukebox musical based on the lives of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons interweaves their greatest hits with the highs and lows of the group members. Along the way, it won multiple Tonys and is still playing to packed houses on Broadway and the many road tours traveling the country.