Melanie Dishman's archive

We all have ‘The Hangover’ to thank for this

‘Rough Night’

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Jillian Bell

Directed by: Lucia Aniello

Rated: R

 

My sister and I have an ongoing debate about the role of movies that revolves around art vs. entertainment. I fall into the latter fold because I have hard time seeing movies like “Booty Call” as art. But sis, a graduate of Cal Arts, holds that movies must teach us something in order to have succeeded. We rarely agree — until now.

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Questionable remake leaves audience cold

What I hoped would be a yummy art house feature to relieve a long, hot summer fell far short of my expectations. Allow me to save you a needless trip to a Houston cinema to see “My Cousin Rachel” when you can just wait for cable pay-per-view. I’ll wager it will be available by August.

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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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