“The Giver” possesses all the right ingredients for a young-adult blockbuster success: a beloved and award-winning source novel, an A-list director in Philip Noyce, and talented veteran actors populating the supporting cast (most notably Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep). It’s also proof that the right ingredients don’t always result in a fulfilling meal. The problems …
Even the most vocal detractors of David Frankel’s “Hope Springs” must recognize the miracle of the film’s existence. This is a studio-funded production about the sex lives of old people that is neither an Oscar-hungry downer nor an outrageous farce. It approaches an issue that affects married couples over 40–hardly Hollywood’s target demographic–honestly and empathetically. …
Hello and welcome back to Box Office Beat, the column in which I predict the upcoming weekend’s box office grosses. It must be August, because we finally have a weekend with a healthy four new releases after many consecutive weekends of just one or two, which is the standard schedule for summer tent-pole season. That …
