Shazam! SHAZAM! (2019) Starring Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou, Grace Fulton, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Faithe Herman, Cooper Andrews, Marta Milans, Jovan Armand, Adam Brody, Meagan Good, Ross Butler, D.J. Cotrona, Michelle Borth, Caroline Palmer, Evan Marsh, Carson MacCormac, Ethan Pugiotto, David Kohlsmith and Lotta Losten. Screenplay by Henry Gayden. Directed by David F. Sandberg. Distributed by Warner Bros. 132 minutes. Rated PG-13

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (2016) Starring Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Samuel L. Jackson, Judi Dench, Rupert Everett, Allison Janney, Chris O’Dowd, Terence Stamp, Ella Purnell, Finlay MacMillan, Lauren McCrostie, Hayden Keeler-Stone, Georgia Pemberton, Milo Parker, Raffiella Chapman and Pixie Davies. Screenplay by Jane Goldman. Directed by Tim Burton. Distributed by 20th Century Fox Pictures.  127 minutes.  Rated PG

Alice Through the Looking Glass ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS (2016) Starring Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Sacha Baron Cohen, Rhys Ifans, Matt Lucas, Lindsay Duncan, Leo Bill, Geraldine James, Andrew Scott, Richard Armitage, Ed Speleers, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Paul Whitehouse, Stephen Fry, Barbara Windsor, Michael Sheen and Matt Vogel. Screenplay by Linda Woolverton. Directed by James Bobin. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.  11

Michael Keaton at New York Comic-Con 2014. Michael Keaton Soars To Heights of Award Season Through Birdman by Brad Balfour Of all the Mexican new wave directors who emerged in the ’90s, Alejandro González Iñárritu always pushed the envelope further than cohorts Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro. He does so once again with Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance), a dark comic tragedy co-written with Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo that was the

Big Eyes BIG EYES (2014) Starring Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Krysten Ritter, Jason Schwartzman, Danny Huston, Terence Stamp, Jon Polito, Madeleine Arthur, Delaney Raye, Elisabetta Fantone, James Saito, Guido Furlani, Emily Bruhn, Alan MacFarlane, Tony Alcantar and Jaden Alexander. Screenplay by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Directed by Tim Burton. Distributed by The Weinstein Company.  106 minutes.  Rated PG-13. In the 1990s, screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry

Mark Wahlberg Mark Wahlberg Joins His Band of Brothers by Brad Balfour Though 34 year old Mark Wahlberg has projected a hard side to his public persona from the days he was rapper Markie Mark onto when he got leads in such films as Boogie Nights and Three Kings, his character in Four Brothers, Bobby Mercer, may be his toughest. As one of the sibling quartet avenging their foster mother’s death, Wahlberg plays it with an unrelenting pace and violence. Since being raised in a t

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (2005) Starring Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor, Missi Pyle, James Fox, Deep Roy, Christopher Lee, Adam Godley, Franziska Troegner, Annasophia Robb, Julia Winter, Jordan Fry, Philip Wiegratz, Blair Dunlop, Liz Smith, Eileen Essell, David Morris, Nitin Ganata and Shelley Conn. Screenplay by John August. Directed by Tim Burton. Distributed by Warner Brothers Picture

Batman Begins BATMAN BEGINS (2005) Starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, Mark Boone Jr., Linus Roache, Morgan Freeman, Larry Holden, Gerard Murphy, Colin McFarlane, Sara Stewart, Gus Lewis, Richard Brake, Rade Sherbedgia, Emma Lockhart and Christine Adams. Screenplay by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Directed by Christopher Nolan. Distributed by Warner Brothers Pictures

Big Fish BIG FISH  (2004) Starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman, Robert Guillaume, Marion Cotillard, Matthew McGrory, David Denman, Missi Pyle, Loudon Wainwright III, Ada Tai, Arlene Tai, Steve Buscemi and Danny DeVito. Screenplay by John August. Directed by Tim Burton. Distributed by Columbia Pictures.  125 minutes.  Rated PG-13. I had a rather complicated reaction to Tim Burton’s latest film Big Fish. The wor