Author Van Roberts

SPY // LAUGHTER'S FIRST LADY “Unaccompanied Minors” director Paul Feig has been grooming plus-sized actress Melissa McCarthy for the big time since he cast her as the loquacious, scene-stealing,...

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON // A REVELRY OF ACTION & SHENANIGANS Watching “Serenity” director Joss Whedon’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is like riding on a runaway rollercoaster. As he did with the...

"EX MACHINA" // ROBUST & ROBOTIC Nightmares won’t trouble you after watching the subtle but suspenseful science fiction fright flick “Ex Machina” about a sentient robot with enough cunning to...

"RUN ALL NIGHT" // PLENTY OF MOMENTUM AND SURPRISES Liam Neeson embarks on an after-hours artillery barrage in “Nonstop” director Jaume Collet-Serra’s “Run All Night,” a vigorous, but formulaic,...

"THE DUFF" // CARVES OUT A NICHE FOR ITSELF The captivating “Pygmalion” comedy “The DUFF” revitalizes the standard-issue, romantic, high school, makeover movie. No, I haven’t read Kentucky-native...

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE // COULD EASILY QUALIFY FOR "FIFTY SHADES OF BLOOD" Imagine putting the James Bond movies into a cinematic blender with the Austin Powers comedies, and you’ll see what British...

AMERICAN SNIPER // STRAIGHTFORWARD AND REVERENT // FIRST RATE ACTION In his gritty, 132 minute, R-rated, combat biography “American Sniper” producer & director Clint Eastwood treats the life of...

TAKEN 3 // NO-HOLDS BARRED ACTION // I WATCHED IT TWICE **** out of 4 A good action thriller rarely gives its hero a chance to catch his breath. The bottom seems to fall out from under Liam Neeson in the...

UNBROKEN // TREMENDOUS MOMENTUM // JOLIE SHOWS DIRECTORIAL GENIUS Ranking as one of the best movies about World War II, initially, I approached “Unbroken”with considerable skepticism because actress...

EXODUS // GODS AND KINGS // UNDERWHELMING EXTRAVAGANZA ** out of **** Nobody has made a landmark Biblical movie since Mel Gibson helmed “The Passion of the Christ” in 2004. Recently, contenders have...