It might be stating the obvious to say that Steven Spielberg is a great filmmaker but his latest stint in the director’s chair, "Bridge of Spies," just goes to show that it’s still true no matter how many times you say it.

I grew up reading two or three Hardy Boys novels each week during the summer much to my Mom’s chagrin. She used to tell me to get my nose out of a book and go do something constructive, preferably outside. Max, a new film from Boaz Yakin (Remember the Titans), feels like a throw-back the adventures of Frank and Joe with some Lassie thrown in.

The funny, pill-shaped, nonsense-jabbering characters from the Despicable Me movies get their own screen time in Minions. Their purpose: to serve the most despicable master they can find. But it seems like they inadvertently keep causing the demise of those very masters with their hilarious ineptitude. From a T-Rex to Dracula to Napoleon, the well-meaning Minions just can't seem to keep “the boss” around for very long.

I’m already a fan of Pixar Animation Studios (I used their films as the basis for my Master’s thesis) so I didn’t need any pushing to go see Inside Out, the latest offering from the imaginations responsible for Up and Monster’s Inc. A long-time proponent that Toy Story (1995) is Pixar’s best film, I might have to re-look at that conviction in light of the absolute delight that is Inside Out.

A Gem for Family Movie Night

The fairy tale of Cinderella has been told many times on film, the most famous being Disney’s 1950 animated classic. The new Cinderella, directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Lily James and Cate Blanchet is a stunning tribute to the classic. Everybody knows the story and Branagh sticks closely to the traditional telling of the tale, mice as horses and pumpkins as carriages and all. What is truly delightful about this telling is that it feels like a morality play without the preachy part.