St. Paul Pioneer Press

Jennifer Lawrence in ‘Red Sparrow.’ - Twentieth Century Fox

‘Red Sparrow’ loses too many (ahem) feathers to really take flight

August 23, 2018 at 12:00 a.m.

It’s amazing how distracting bangs can be, and Jennifer Lawrence has some to be reckoned with in her latest movie, “Red Sparrow.”The dark fringe (which eventually becomes blonde) hangs past...

Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Lamorne Morris, Billy Magnussen, and Kylie Bunbury in ‘Game Night.’ - New Line Cinema/TNS

Give the movie ‘Game Night’ a spin — and it will give you a shake

August 23, 2018 at 12:00 a.m.

Three things kill comedies: trailers, sometimes plot, and people you know who’ve seen the movie before you.Trailers tend to give away all the best bits. Plots can get in the...

James Corden voices the title character in ‘Peter Rabbit.’ - Sony Pictures

You’ll cotton to this tale of ‘Peter Rabbit’

August 23, 2018 at 12:00 a.m.

I was 6 and my sister was almost 5 when I persuaded her to step on the end of a rake. My surprise when the handle hit her in the...

Tom Hanks, right, and Meryl Streep in a scene from ‘The Post.’ - 20th Century Fox

‘The Post’ tackles pressing questions — then and now

August 23, 2018 at 12:00 a.m.

Big questions hang over director Steven Spielberg’s “The Post,” but none is as big as the one that Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) poses to the newspaper’s publisher...

Hugh Jackman in a scene from ‘The Greatest Showman.’ Jackman was nominated for a Golden Globe for best actor in a motion picture comedy or musical for his role in the film. - Twentieth Century Fox

Ladies and gentlemen: ‘Greatest Showman’ is — simply — great

August 23, 2018 at 12:00 a.m.

How best to describe “The Greatest Showman”? “Thrilling” comes to mind. And “foot-tapping fun,” but mostly “winning.”The musical certainly has enough award-winners in its ranks: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul,...

Ezra Miller, from left, Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot in a scene from ‘Justice League.’ - Warner Bros.

The ‘Justice League’ unites against supervillain who is super lame

August 23, 2018 at 12:00 a.m.

Superman is dead and the world is going to hell in a handbasket — at least that’s what “Justice League” would have us believe.The forces of evil have free rein...

If the shag haircut doesn’t tell you it’s the 1970s, the microphones should. Emma Stone as Billie Jean King and Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs in ‘Battle of the Sexes.’ - Melinda Sue Gordon — Twentieth Century Fox

Watching ‘Battle of the Sexes’ is a win-lose proposition

August 23, 2018 at 12:00 a.m.

Billie Jean King demolished Bobby Riggs in tennis’ “Battle of the Sexes” and her story does the same thing to his in the movie.A dual biopic, “Battle of the Sexes”...

A lot of bad things happen to Javier Bardem and Jennifer Lawrence in ‘Mother!’ - Paramount Pictures

Get ready for a ‘Mother!’ of a movie

August 23, 2018 at 12:00 a.m.

However strange you’ve heard “Mother!” is, I guarantee it is much stranger.The first hour of the Jennifer Lawrence creepfest is essentially the “Rosemary’s Baby” / “The Shining”-adjacent thriller the commercials...

Dylan O’Brien in ‘American Assassin.’ - Christian Black — CBS Films

Vince Flynn’s widow says her husband would have loved ‘American Assassin’

August 23, 2018 at 12:00 a.m.

As you read this, Minnesota’s Lysa Flynn is either getting ready for the red carpet premiere of “American Assassin” in Hollywood, or walking the carpet or breathing a sigh of...

Differing agendas send murder investigators Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner on a collision course in ‘Wind River.’ - The Weinstein Company

‘Wind River’ flows to satisfying conclusion

August 23, 2018 at 12:00 a.m.

I can’t think of a filmmaker who has established a “thing” as quickly as Taylor Sheridan.This week’s “Wind River” is Sheridan’s first movie as a director (not counting a cheapie...

All Stories