Movies in a minute with film critic Bruce Miller

In everything from music to gum, this is a classic wallow in the trends of the time. Unfortunately, the story that drives it isn’t exactly an Acura Integra.

While Ramon Rodriguez may play the title role in “Will Trent,” he knows there’s a scene stealer nipping at his heels. Belle, a Chihuahua who plays Will’s dog Betty, has a wardrobe of sweaters and, in the second season, gets a canine costar.

At a time when the world turned ugly, Christian Dior and Coco Chanel were determined to introduce something beautiful – fashion. In “The New Look,” actors Ben Mendelsohn and Juliette Binoche play the two and reveal what inspired and drove them to become the brands that still thrive today.

In the new Wonka, he’s just getting his start, determined to become one of the big chocolatiers. Others, though, are eager to take him down. They have a corner on the market and don’t want this man who can make people fly cutting in on their business.

If you're looking for fresh content in the theaters or to stream on television, critic Bruce Miller has you covered.

Paramount Pictures’ Bob Marley biopic “Bob Marley: One Love” outperformed expectations to debut at No. 1 at the box office with a $27.7 million opening weekend.

Like a Golden Book for children, “Bob Marley: One Love” glosses over much of the man’s history and doesn’t begin to tap into his impact on the music industry.

In the past, when a Japanese-themed production included Hiro Sanada, he didn’t have the clout to hire Japanese crew members or correct inaccuracies. “Shogun” is different.

Michael Fassbender is miscast as Thomas Rongen, a soccer coach whose Bobby Knight behavior has forced him to look elsewhere for work. 

Director Ethan Coen (working without his brother Joel) drops in the kind of references that only Quentin Tarantino could appreciate and, frequently, leaves everyone else agape.

Security comes with an Oscar nomination. Or so Bobi Wine and his wife Barbie Kyagulanyi discovered when “Bobi Wine: The People’s President” was nominated for a Best Documentary Academy Award.

The movie spends considerable time at the beach, in the pool and on rescue boats, simply to get Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney into skimpy swimwear (or nothing at all).

Movie theaters were looking for a savior and “Dune: Part Two” is delivering on the promise. 

"Dune, Part Two" delivers stunning visuals, intricate relationships, and epic storytelling that sets the stage for a franchise with immense potential.

As Universal Pictures prepared for a big night at the Academy Awards with “Oppenheimer,” the studio also celebrated the No. 1 debut of “Kung Fu Panda 4,” which collected $58.3 million in domestic theaters over the weekend. 

We are past the Oscars, which means it's time to turn our attention to what's new and coming soon. And there are a lot of options available.

In the “Independent Lens” feature, “Space: The Longest Goodbye,” retired astronaut Cady Coleman and her son Jamey Simpson talk about the toll long absences can take.

The decision to end the series rests in the hands of CBS, says Executive Producer Gina Yashere. “The industry’s in flux right now."

“Challengers” ups the tennis game. Instead of focusing on coaching, all-important tournaments and endorsement deals, it looks at the relationships between players.

The sequel tells a complete story and doesn’t really need the first half to understand.

The film, in fact, isn’t much of a stretch from dozens of other action films that emerged a decade or two ago.

Now aiming for a worldwide audience, “Doctor Who” will be seen outside the United Kingdom and Ireland on Disney+, which helps introduce the franchise to newcomers.

Those who hate Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial debut never knew its points of reference.

Slated to air May 24 on PBS (just weeks before the Tonys are handed out), the production could inspire viewers who aren’t able to see Broadway plays.

Roger Corman produced such low-budget classics as “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and gave many of Hollywood’s most famous actors and directors their first breaks.

What’s interesting is how producers have crafted the new world.  There’s a well-stocked bar of Boston jokes and enough cameos to make you long for seconds.

Using motion-capture animation, director Wes Ball creates a “Planet of the Apes” film that’s more engrossing than its predecessors.

Texas and California have joined forces to take on the rest of the country. Their people are everywhere, though we don’t know who’s on what side.

The film shows how the U.S. Navy unit makes the transition from one team to another. The year is 2022 and its about to begin a cross-country tour, wowing audiences with skills that require more than a steady hand.

When choosing pilots for the Blue Angels, officials look for one thing: Personality.

In the new documentary “The Blue Angels,” Christopher Kapuschansky – or “Cheese” as he’s called – is one of the pilots who fly through the air with the greatest of ease. 

Candice Carty-Williams' bestseller “Queenie” is set to premiere in June on Hulu.

Short on detail, the Sam Taylor-Johnson film doesn’t even give a good sense of what propelled Amy Winehouse's career.

“Bob Marley: One Love” glosses over much of the man’s history and doesn’t begin to tap into his impact on the music industry.

Hollywood blockbusters are failing the “climate reality check,” and are failing moviegoers by ignoring what researchers call an existential threat posed by climate change, a new study finds.

Based on the ESPN 30 for 30 podcast, “The Sterling Affairs,” “Clipped” tracks the fallout that occurred after Donald Sterling made racist remarks to V. Stiviano.

“Hit Man,” Glen Powell's latest, is like a resume of characters he can assume and, yes, they’re good.

Considering “Theater Camp” and “Wet Hot American Summer” mined so much from this setting, “Summer Camp” could have been so much more.

In the sci-fi film, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” director Adam Wingard rousts a herd of creatures and pits them against one another.

Jim Henson didn’t just want puppet shows. He was interested in creating ballets and Broadway musicals. He started by doing commercials, then branched into small films and, his goal, television.

Written by Cord Jefferson, the comedy was a great look at society and the shifts that people face.

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” may not be the film of summer but it’s good until one of those turns up.

Without the learning curve of the first film, the sequel is more understandable and ready for Riley, the 13-year-old owner of said emotions, to put them to the test.

Watch “Monkey Man” on a cellphone or an iPad and you’ll see that’s how director Dev Patel envisioned it.

The shoes were at the heart of 1939’s beloved “The Wizard of Oz,” made famous as Dorothy befriended the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion along the Yellow Brick Road.

Lily Gladstone plays an outwardly tough but inwardly vulnerable Native woman who just wants to learn what happened to her sister.

Cults succeed by feeding on fear that exists in the world, says writer/director Jordan Scott.

Instead of focusing on coaching, all-important tournaments and endorsement deals, it looks at the relationships between players.

Based on Danny Lyons’ photographic account of a Midwestern gang during the 1960s and ‘70s, “The Bikeriders” is as close to documentary as a fiction film gets. 

Move over, Diane Keaton. June Squibb’s in town and she’s got a better take on retirement life than you, Jane Fonda AND Lily Tomlin.

Lisa Bonet, a star of the “Cosby Show,” and Jason Momoa of “Aquaman” and "Game of Thrones" had been separated for more than three years.

Shoehorning the Minions into all sorts of stories (the “Despicable Me 4” way) is a bit frenetic and difficult to understand. Still, they’re helping Gru battle a foe from school.

Occurring six years after “X” (the one about gonzo filmmakers shooting a porno in the country), it doesn’t quite have the surprise element of the first or its prequel, “Pearl.”

Short on detail, the Sam Taylor-Johnson film doesn’t even give a good sense of what propelled Amy Winehouse's career. 

Props from “Godfather” and other iconic films are scattered throughout the All-Movie Hotel, where Coppola himself, along with Adam Driver, stayed in rooms that will soon be available to book.

“The Bear” went on a tear at Wednesday morning’s Emmy nominations with a comedy-series record 23, and “Shogun” led all nominees with 25 in a dominant year for FX.

Had this been made in the early 1970s, Doris Day and Rock Hudson might have been the stars. Instead, Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum are the opposites who ultimately attract.

Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling get a handful of cute moments, but this isn’t anything Sandra Bullock and others haven’t already done.

Now airing on Paramount+, “Colin from Accounts” was a hit in Australia, then made the leap to the United States in November.

Natascha McElhone’s characters in “Hotel Portofino” and “Halo” have one thing in common – a blonde wig.

Like disaster films of the 1970s and '80s, “Twisters” loads up with a cavalcade of characters, then watches them react.

Before “Merrily We Roll Along” became one of the biggest Broadway hits, “Hotel Portofino” star Mark Umbers was part of a previous cast that reexamined the show that initially flopped.

If a character makes an abrupt exit from a TV show, it may not be because he or she wanted to go. It could be something as simple as availability.

Savor every episode as if it’s the last. After all, Ted was the one who reminded us we just needed to do one thing: believe.

In the new Freeform reality series, “Wayne Brady: The Family Remix,” the Emmy-winning performer and game show host opens up about his private life.

“The whole idea of going back to Boston was the fact that Frasier had some things he still had to button up,” Kelsey Grammer says.

If you embrace the Marvel universe, you’ll love “Deadpool & Wolverine.” If you hate the Marvel universe, you’ll love “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

Do you know what’s so thrilling about the Olympics? People you’ve never heard of become instant celebrities.

“So Help Me Todd” was abruptly cancelled last season, leaving fans in the lurch about the characters, their relationships and the future of their world.

That writer/director M. Night Shyamalan created that original “a-ha” movie only serves to enhance the disappointment with this one.

Based on Danny Lyons’ photographic account of a Midwestern gang, the film shows how the Vandals (odd, right?) became family for those who may not have had any.

The corny plot, the gauzy settings and the oh-so-questionable link to the past conspire to remind us of similar films we actually liked.

With filmmaker Matthew Felker, Nicole Eggert crafted “After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun,” a docuseries that looks back at the drama’s heyday some 30 years later.

It takes a lot of friends to make something like “IF.” Or much of Hollywood owes John Krasinski plenty.

After several hit-and-miss “Alien” sequels, it’s comforting to see “Alien: Romulus,” a sturdy entry in the canon that reminds us of a day when summer films were reliable tent poles.

Based on the case of an Indiana woman who claimed her house was haunted and her children possessed, this is a film you don’t want to watch late at night.

In “Blake Edwards: A Love Story in 24 Frames,” Lesley Ann Warren, Julie Andrews, Bo Derek and others who worked with the director talk about his methods and creativity.

Using motion-capture animation, director Wes Ball creates a “Planet of the Apes” film that’s more engrossing than its predecessors.

Filled with more one-liners than a volume of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, it’s like a CliffNotes look at an important time in American history.

“Inside Out 2” is the most financially successful animated movie of all time. Let that sink in. That means the summer was very, very good to those folks behind emotions.

As sequels go, Tim Burton's “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is a welcome follow-up. It just comes a little late for fans to truly get excited for Michael Keaton's return to the role.

“The Birds Who Fear Death” looks at two brothers who go deep into northern Canada to strike a deal with the indigenous people included in their father’s will.

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith may not be pitched at the same level as they were in the last one, but “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” throws new curves.

“Speak No Evil” isn’t tricky or even well-plotted. It’s simply a horror film with clunky “opportunities” that add up to nothing.

If you watch “Despicable Me 4” at home, you might be able to appreciate its hit-and-run quality.

Pitched “Transformers One,” an origins story for Optimus Prime and Megatron, the one-time Thor thought it was a good opportunity to “dig in and invent.”

Parents who end up transforming into Uber drivers to ferry the key audience will be thrilled to know it’s less than two hours and doesn’t interfere with a momentary nap.

In the “grandma gets scammed” comedy, June Squibb plays a 93-year-old who sends $10,000 in cash to con artists because she’s convinced her grandson was in an accident.

Francis Ford Coppola mixes acting styles, storytelling and visuals in an unruly way, suggesting the sci-fi epic "Megalopolis" was directed by a number of people.

In “A Quiet Place: Day One,” Lupita Nyong’o stars as Sam, a terminally ill writer who is trying to protect her cat from the wrath of flying creatures.

A “Joker” sequel from director Todd Phillips was probably a given. But “Folie a Deux”? Woof, it’s a dog.

Occurring six years after “X” (the one about gonzo filmmakers shooting a porno in the country), 'MaXXXine' doesn’t quite have the surprise element of the first or its prequel, “Pearl.”

There’s a lot of fun to be had in “Saturday Night,” a frantic look at the debut of the 50-year-old “Saturday Night Live.”

While some of the scenes are just plain silly, the twister that spins through an Oklahoma town is frightening enough to make you wonder if the home you’re sitting in is safe.

It takes director Parker Finn a long time to get the story to crack. As a result, we’re never quite sure where the evil spirits are headed.

The story – like most superhero outings – is full of nonsense. Deadpool digs up Wolverine and together they take on Cassandra Nova, the sister of X-Men’s leader Charles Xavier.

In “A Real Pain,” Kieran Culkin is the cousin who’s untethered, outspoken and, often, a real pain to his more structured relative, played by Jesse Eisenberg. 

There’s a lot to unpack, largely because director John Crowley realizes this isn’t going to be another crowd-pleasing rom-com.

That writer/director M. Night Shyamalan created that original “a-ha” movie only serves to enhance the disappointment with this one.

Blessed with old school technology and a series of unfortunate situations, “Romulus” pulls a working stiff, her android brother and their friends onto a decommissioned space station.

There’s a “rinse and repeat” quality to “Moana 2.” Instead of telling new stories, it rewashes the first film’s plot.

When it was originally announced, “The Critic” was called “Curtain Call” and that was a more fitting title. “The Critic” implies more than it offers.

Nathan Law's story – captured in the documentary, “Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law?” – has inspired young people everywhere to look closer at the motives of those in power.

Based in fact, the drama has a cat-and-mouse quality, but it sparks whenever director Justin Kurzel heads into the Pacific Northwest compound where Mathews is assembling like-minded people.

Nicholas Hoult didn’t know how to approach playing the leader of a radical group in the Pacific Northwest.

Based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “Nickel Boys” follows two boys who become friends at a reform school called the Nickel Academy.

Spanning a handful of years, the movie includes a lot of music and more than a few iconic songs. Timothee Chalamet makes a great Dylan, all floppy-haired and rough-voiced. 

“Conclave” moves faster than a Sunday Mass, has plenty of humor and boasts the kind of performances that could fill an Oscar slate.

This isn’t just any remake. It’s a second take that uses the bones of Murnau’s story and adds his own flesh.

Work smarter, not harder. That’s the message we get from “The Brutalist,” a sprawling look at one man’s life that only cost $10 million to make. 

A title like “We Live in Time” is difficult to remember. A film like “We Live in Time” is easy to forget.

Supposedly a reboot of the Captain America character, it has so many callbacks to past films, comic books and situations, it’s impossible to get a bead on what’s what.

If “Novocaine” had been made 20, 30 years ago, Tom Hanks definitely would have been its star.

Horror humor is having a moment. But if Paul Rudd can’t quite make Ant-Man work, what makes anyone think he can gallop in this field?

Unrelenting, the Catholic nun played by Cristiana Dell’Anna doesn’t take “no” from anyone – the pope included – as she tries to make life better for the downtrodden.

When it comes to the Academy Awards, both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” have staying power. But will they win? By category, here’s who’s likely to take home Oscars in 2024.

When producers told him he was touring Europe in the second season of “The Reluctant Traveler,” Eugene Levy thought he’d be hitting the continent’s greatest cities. That wasn't the case.

Coming on the 100th anniversary of something (the day Walt doodled?), it’s likely an homage to the the past. But it sure could have used a better script.

“It feels like the first year of the show in a lot of ways,” the creator and executive producer says. “The enthusiasm at the network is through the roof.”

A year after an Oscar nomination, Andrea Riseborough stars in “Alice and Jack,” a limited “Masterpiece” series about a couple over more than a decade.

Produced by Oscar winners Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the six-part series was designed to show how photographers make the decisions they do. 

“The Iron Claw” didn’t pin down any awards at this year’s Oscars. Heck, it didn’t even wrestle a nomination. But it did tell a compelling story.

Stuffed with references to Nebraska, circa 1991, the summer comedy shows how two enterprising teens turned a summer job at the swimming pool into their own financial windfall.

Set in 1969, the series follows Kristen Wiig as she tries to break into Palm Beach society. Naturally, there are those who don’t want outsiders and those who’d like change.

The film “Cabrini” focuses on Mother Cabrini, the first American saint, and her tenacity to help the immigrant population.

In the “Nova” special “A.I. Revolution,” Miles O’Brien looks at those advances and talks about ones that need a bit more study.

Basically a debate between Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis, it challenges audiences to think about the existence of God.

Nell Jackson has been framed for murder and becomes the most feared highwaywoman in 18th-century England in the new series on Disney+.

The goal was to reach a generation that hadn’t heard the Holocaust stories. “Gen Z, they don’t really know or care about the Holocaust,” actress Joey King says. “It’s super important to share…and educate.”

Fraggles puppeteer John Tartaglia keeps a decades old tradition going with a new season of "Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock" on Apple TV+.

Using plenty of TV techniques from the era, directors Colin and Cameron Cairnes do a great job of conjuring more than just the devil in “Late Night with the Devil.”

Writer/director Bryce McGuire uses tricks from “Jaws,” “It” and “The Shining” to trigger quick responses and has a fairly good thriller on his hands.

Like “Columbo,” a series with which it has much in common, “Elsbeth” starts with an incident then brings law enforcement and the lawyer into the case. 

In “A Brief History of the Future,” a PBS series which runs through May, host Ari Wallach talks with experts who say the “doom and gloom” approach is very shortsighted.

“Godzilla x Kong” doesn’t have a strong script and its work for the humans is marginal at best. Still, if you're craving popcorn, this is your movie.

In everything from music to gum, this is a classic wallow in the trends of the time. Unfortunately, the story that drives it isn’t exactly an Acura Integra.

Written and directed by Oscar winner Steven Zaillian, the Netflix series lets Andrew Scott toy with the lies Tom Ripley tells.

Almost claustrophobic in approach, the action film goes in for the kill repeatedly. When it’s not, it’s rushing through subtitles that explain what’s happening.

A comedian to watch, Alex Edelman could expand upon this moment and create a series that would last for years. 

The first – and last – thing that strikes you about “Ripley” is the cinematography. Shot in crisp black-and-white, it’s like a photo book from the 1950s.

Director Ethan Coen (working without his brother Joel) drops in the kind of references that only Quentin Tarantino could appreciate and, frequently, leaves everyone else agape.

“Civil War” tries to show us how it looks when Americans sweep into a country but have no concept of the war they’re fighting. It’s fascinating but it’s also disturbing.

Hitting on all those things that annoy you about the in-laws and the outlaws, the new Amazon Freevee comedy offers more to unpack than an order from UberEats.

In the wake of “High School Musical” (and its sequels and homages), this could have been a 21st century “Grease.” The hallmarks are there; they’re just not maximized.

In the first season of the new PBS show, Dule Hill visits a luthier school, interviews an LGBTQ+ mariachi band and rehearses with a senior citizen burlesque group.

To play a spy, Elisabeth Moss did plenty of research about British agents. Among the insights: Don’t be the one who’s always asking questions.

The series gives the two a chance to test their talk show wings and lets Deborah pitch something other than merchandise on QVC.

In the third season of “Hacks,” Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) gets an offer both can’t refuse – a late-night talk show.

“Abigail” looks like it’s going to be a horror film about dance. Five minutes in, you realize ballet is a ruse. This is simply a vampire film dressed up in tutus.

Based on a true story, "Ordinary Angels" helps mask some of the plot flaws, but it’s also one of those four-hankie tearjerkers that shoehorn Hilary Swank into a niche.

Helen Hunt, who starred with Bill Paxton in the 1996 shot-in-Oklahoma film "Twister," will attend a special screening in Dallas in conjunction with her appearance at Dallas Fan Expo.