![A satisfying everyday meal [restaurant review]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AkaSushiRamen1-75x55.jpg "A satisfying everyday meal [restaurant review]")
![“Patrick” – A dog [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Patrick-1-75x55.jpg "“Patrick” – A dog [MOVIE REVIEW]")
“Patrick” – A dog [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“Patrick” – A dog [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Patrick-1-1150x550.jpg "“Patrick” – A dog [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson “Patrick,” a little Hallmark-style film that luckily stays just this side of treacly, would have been far more suited as a minor television movie than a feature. Writer/director Mandi Fletcher, known primarily as the director of the Absolutely Fabulous movie of 2016, has never met a trope she didn’t like. We meet […]
“La Religieuse” – Nun but the lonely heart [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“La Religieuse” – Nun but the lonely heart [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/La-Religieuse-Still-1-1150x550.jpg "“La Religieuse” – Nun but the lonely heart [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson In a new 4K restoration, Jacques Rivette’s highly controversial film, La Religieuse (The Nun), is given a long-awaited revival. Finished in 1966, this film generated controversy even before completion, and its release in France was delayed further when the Ministry of Information refused to license it for distribution, despite a board of […]
“Mary Poppins Returns” – A Spoon full of sugar isn’t going to help [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“Mary Poppins Returns” – A Spoon full of sugar isn’t going to help [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Mary-Poppins-Miranda-et-al.jpg "“Mary Poppins Returns” – A Spoon full of sugar isn’t going to help [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson “Mary Poppins Returns” hits all the notes, notes that were all hit before. Mary Poppins may be practically perfect in every way (especially as played by Emily Blunt) but the film is practically dreadful in every way. With a story written by a committee of David Magee, Rob Marshall, and John DeLuca, […]
“The Old Man and the Gun” – Shoot the moon [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“The Old Man and the Gun” – Shoot the moon [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/056_TOMATG_06488-1150x550.jpg "“The Old Man and the Gun” – Shoot the moon [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson “The Old Man and the Gun” is Robert Redford’s valedictory film for us all, demographics be damned. Based on a New Yorker article written by David Grann, writer-director David Lowery has given us a meaningful send-off for Robert Redford. Based on the true story of Forrest Tucker, a professional bank robber, Lowery […]
“Tea with the Dames” – And there’s nothing like it. [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“Tea with the Dames” – And there’s nothing like it. [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/KewMedia_Nothing_like_a_Dame_09-1150x550.jpg "“Tea with the Dames” – And there’s nothing like it. [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson “Tea with the Dames” is one of the most delightful documentaries to come along in a period that has been full of wonderful documentaries. Although the term “Dame” refers to the royal honorific bestowed on women who have made outstanding contributions to their craft, it can, surprisingly also take on the American […]
“The House with a Clock in its Walls” – Tick, tick, boom! [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“The House with a Clock in its Walls” – Tick, tick, boom! [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/8T50_D001_00359R.jpg_cmyk-1150x550.jpg "“The House with a Clock in its Walls” – Tick, tick, boom! [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson Never has such a delightful, family-friendly film come along that boasts what seems to be a counterintuitive creative team. Maybe that’s just another of the terrific surprises associated with this flat-out wonderful movie. From this point on, if you expect anything remotely negative about “The House with a Clock in its Walls,” […]
“Colette” – Nicely Knightley played [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“Colette” – Nicely Knightley played [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Colette-and-Willy-1-1150x550.jpeg "“Colette” – Nicely Knightley played [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson “Colette,” a portrayal of the soon-to-be-famous Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, is an almost-ran on too many levels. Directed by Wash Westmoreland (“Still Alice” and Quinceañera”) and written by a team including Westmoreland, Richard Glatzer, and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, all from a story by Glatzer. And this may be the problem, for with that many writers, […]
“Love, Gilda” – A valentine [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“Love, Gilda” – A valentine [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Gilda-in-PJs-1-1150x550.jpg "“Love, Gilda” – A valentine [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson “Love, Gilda” is a warm look back on comedienne Gilda Radner by first time director Lisa D’Apolito. D’Apolito successfully enters the world of Ms. Radner, the sorely missed icon of sketch comedy, using archival footage and home movies. Radner kept a very detailed diary and the director was lucky enough to have […]
“When You Read this Letter” – And you must [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“When You Read this Letter” – And you must [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/When-you-read-this-letter.2-1150x550.jpg "“When You Read this Letter” – And you must [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson “When You Read this Letter,” is one of only a couple of films that Jean-Pierre Melville directed but did not write. Working from a script by Jacques Deval, “When You Read this Letter” was the film Melville reluctantly agreed to direct to prove that he was capable of making a commercial movie. […]
“Hot to Trot” – Definitely warm [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“Hot to Trot” – Definitely warm [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/hot-to-trot-girls-1080x550.jpg "“Hot to Trot” – Definitely warm [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson “Hot to Trot,” the documentary by Gail Freedman, in her directing debut, is a warm-hearted, soft-focus film about the same-sex competitive ballroom dancing world. Following several dancers as they traverse the pitfalls of life and their passion for ballroom dancing, “Hot to Trot” takes you into a world that few, outside and […]
Memoir of War – It’s a long war [MOVIE REVIEW]
![Memoir of War – It’s a long war [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Memoir-of-War.2-e1534616874128.jpg "Memoir of War – It’s a long war [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson “Memoir of War,” written and directed by Emmanuel Finkiel, based on the semi-autobiographical novel, La Douleur by Marguerite Duras, is a good try at something that was almost impossible from the beginning. “La Douleur” (Sorrow) is a much more appropriate title for this endeavor as it is an attempt by Finkiel to […]
“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” – Lovely [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” – Lovely [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/TATB-GU-1150x550.jpg "“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” – Lovely [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson Every once in a while, you need a fantasy – that families are supportive and loving, even when tragedy has occurred; that no one goes without; that your bestie has your back; that high school isn’t the most troubling time of your life; that mean girls can be parried. We all need […]
“Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again” – How can I resist you? [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again” – How can I resist you? [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Mama-Mia-girls-1150x550.jpg "“Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again” – How can I resist you? [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson I really wanted to hate this movie; I really did. The first was such a perfunctory visit to a karaoke bar where no one was quite drunk enough to pull it off. And the opening of “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again” is not promising. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is moping. As she […]
“Yellow Submarine is 50!” – And looking good. [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“Yellow Submarine is 50!” – And looking good. [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Yellow-Submarine-Sea-of-Holes-3.jpeg "“Yellow Submarine is 50!” – And looking good. [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson For a time, in the late 60’s, we all lived in a Yellow Submarine and played in Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band dreaming about when we’d be 64. Well, many of us are on the other side of 64 and no longer have the satin epaulettes but, thanks to the digital […]
“Maineland”- Not mainstream [MOVIE REVIEW]
![“Maineland”- Not mainstream [MOVIE REVIEW]](https://easyreadernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/maineland-stellacheer2_preview-1150x550.jpeg "“Maineland”- Not mainstream [MOVIE REVIEW]")
by Neely Swanson “Maineland” is a thoughtful documentary by Miao Wang that is intended to shed light on the trend of newly wealthy mainland Chinese parents sending their high school-aged children to the United States for an education that will prepare them for the global economy. Several factors, whether or not intended, complicate this rather […]