Family Drama

With 2 episodes left, 10 ‘Cruel Summer’ questions

Freeform is pushing the hashtags #IBelieveJeanette and #IBelieveKate in its “Cruel Summer” (Tuesdays) promotions. But I believe it’s unlikely that one is the villain and

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‘Cruel Summer’ is sudsy and satisfying

“Cruel Summer” (Tuesdays, Freeform) would’ve been a frothy summer cable series a decade ago. Today, TV schedules are less rigid, but this teen/family mystery gives

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‘Dark Skies’ (2013) makes aliens scary again

“Dark Skies” (2013) – no relation to the 1990s TV series of the same name – is a strong movie considering how filled it is

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Allen shows serious side in ‘Interiors’ (1978)

“Interiors” (1978) is a rare Woody Allen film where I wouldn’t know it’s an Allen film if I went in cold and skipped the opening

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Great actresses carry ‘Big Little Lies’ Season 2 (2019)

After HBO’s “Big Little Lies” Season 1 became one of the best shows of 2017, it returned in 2019 with a Season 2. The whole story

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Allen stand-ins steal ‘Hannah and Her Sisters’ (1986)

“Hannah and Her Sisters” (1986) takes a sometimes absurd but ultimately realistic view of human behavior as it chronicles a period encompassing three Thanksgivings of

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Hughes’ ‘Baby’s Day Out’ (1994) crazily mixes tones

Admittedly, I don’t watch a ton of movies with a baby in the lead role, but I gotta assume “Baby’s Day Out” (1994) – despite

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‘Dennis the Menace’ (1993) watchable, ‘Flubber’ (1997) awful

When committing to do a series reviewing every entry in a writer’s catalog, I know there are gonna be some duds to slog through, and

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Evan Rachel Wood’s ‘Kajillionaire’ is (way) offbeat

Writer-director Miranda July’s “Kajillionaire” (2020) exists a half-step away from reality, always unapologetically weird but at the same time heartrendingly true. It’s a more delicate

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Dogs have their day in ‘Beethoven’ (1992), ‘101 Dalmatians’ (1996)

Two John Hughes staples – animals and pratfalls – are on display in his original, clunky-but-likable “Beethoven” (1992) and his slick live-action adaptation of “101

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