Josh Bell

Story Archive

‘Battle of the Sexes’ entertainingly re-creates a tennis landmark: Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017; Emma Stone and Steve Carell give such charismatic performances, it’s hard not to get caught up in the spectacle of it all.
Comparing new comic book-based series ‘Marvel’s Inhumans’ and ‘The Gifted’: Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017; The Gifted’s pilot is fast-paced and exciting, with several intense chase sequences and some smartly deployed special effects.
Shania Twain’s ‘Now’ sounds out of touch: Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017; Single “Swingin’ With My Eyes Closed” could be a Smash Mouth B-side.
‘Will & Grace’ makes an unfortunate return to TV: Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017; When it premiered in 1998, it was groundbreaking for its matter-of-fact depiction of the friendship between a gay man and a straight woman.
Apocalyptica: Metal on wood: Friday, Sept. 22, 2017; The Finnish quartet's cello-driven approach to music has been a huge hit from day one.
Motionless in White is keeping the faith: Friday, Sept. 22, 2017; Its most recent album has hit No. 1, and fans can expect an epic experience.
‘Kingsman’ returns with the loud, tiresome ‘Golden Circle’: Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017; It features the return of Colin Firth as Eggsy’s mentor Harry Hart, despite having been shot point blank in the head and left for dead in the first movie.
‘Law & Order’ takes on ‘The Menendez Murders’ in familiar procedural style: Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017; Already depicted in two 1994 network-TV movies, a recent Lifetime movie and numerous newsmagazines, the case has little new material to explore.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays a flawed real-life hero in ‘Stronger’: Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017; The film doesn’t go easy on its main character: Jeff is an irresponsible screwup before his injury, and he remains an irresponsible screwup afterward.
Foo Fighters’ ‘Concrete and Gold’ conforms to the band’s classic-rock standards: Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017; In-demand pop producer Greg Kurstin gives the album some extra gloss, but it’s not like he has turned the Foos into a dance-pop act.
‘The Lego Ninjago Movie’ shows the animated franchise’s weak spots: Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017; Three movies in, the once-unexpected has become formulaic, and the pop-culture quips has started to run thin.
Zakk Sabbath keeps making metal memories: Friday, Sept. 15, 2017; Zakk Wylde fires up Black Sabbath's sweetest hits.
The Magpie Salute maintains the spirit of the jam: Friday, Sept. 15, 2017; Former Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson keeps his old band's legacy alive.
Vegas sibling hard rockers Otherwise return with a new album and a hometown show: Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017; “The year before we signed our deal, we were doing dual headlining shows with Imagine Dragons.”
Film review: ‘American Assassin’ relies on outdated thrills: Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017; The late Vince Flynn wrote 13 novels about superspy Mitch Rapp, building a dedicated fan following that helped bring Rapp to the big screen.
Netflix’s ‘American Vandal’ smartly sends up the true-crime genre: Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017; Is it funny enough to sustain an eight-episode series? The answer, surprisingly, is mostly yes.
Reese Witherspoon shines in otherwise forgettable rom-com ‘Home Again': Friday, Sept. 8, 2017; Twenty-five years ago, it might have ended up in ABC's TGIF lineup, alongside Step by Step and Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper.
Kesha is opening up in song: Friday, Sept. 8, 2017; She's been through a lot, but she channels it all through her artistry.
Marc Anthony's pull is still strong: Friday, Sept. 8, 2017; Singer finds success extends far beyond his first fans.
Stephen King’s ‘It’ makes its mark on the big screen: Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017; Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise is more explicitly violent, and the film takes full advantage of its R rating to stage intense set pieces, updating many of the horrors faced by the kids in the book.
HBO’s ‘The Deuce’ chronicles New York City’s early porn boom: Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017; It’s unlikely to overshadow The Wire, but it’s the most accessible and purely entertaining show David Simon has worked on since that iconic Baltimore crime drama.
Marvel TV series ‘Inhumans’ makes a disastrous debut in IMAX: Friday, Sept. 1, 2017; Even a bigger budget wouldn’t have fixed the stilted dialogue, one-dimensional characters and questionable acting.
SZA comes out strong in first headlining tour: Friday, Sept. 1, 2017; Rapper's summer release has added fuel to her growing popularity.
‘Lost ’80s Live’ sweeps you back to the past: Friday, Sept. 1, 2017; Some of the decade’s most-known bands get together for a summer soirée.
A Hasidic man struggles with authority in ‘Menashe’: Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017; It stars real-life members of the community, with dialogue almost entirely in Yiddish.
Break up with ensemble rom-com ‘I Do … Until I Don’t’: Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017; The couples are all completely dysfunctional until they conveniently aren’t, for the sake of wrapping up the story.
‘Patti Cake$’ showcases an unlikely aspiring rapper: Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017; Patricia Dombrowski is a plus-sized white woman from suburban New Jersey who works nights as a bartender and dreams of hip-hop stardom
The Fixx was built for the future: Friday, Aug. 25, 2017; New wave trailblazers hit Brooklyn Bowl with classic lineup.
Idina Menzel gives her fans a well-rounded package: Friday, Aug. 25, 2017; ‘Frozen’ singer draws on a wide range of experience, from Broadway to TV.
‘The Tick’ returns with disappointing new adventures: Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017; Amazon’s version takes a darker approach to the character’s adventures, while retaining some of the silliness of a hulking, exuberant man-child in a bright blue costume.
‘Ingrid Goes West’ explores social media’s dark side: Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017; The film scores some laughs by poking fun at the modern fixation on social media, but it isn’t just about taking easy potshots at entitled millennials.
Robert Pattinson plays a misguided lowlife in ‘Good Time’: Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017; The latest from filmmaker brothers Josh and Benny Safdie is as tense and deliberately abrasive as their previous narrative films
Film review: ‘Gook’ shows a different side of the LA riots: Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017; It’s surprisingly upbeat and funny for a movie about such a dark time.
Forgettable animated movie ‘Leap!’ limps into theaters: Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017; Though the film is easy enough to watch, it leaves essentially no impression once it’s over.
Abide with the Gipsy Kings: Friday, Aug. 18, 2017; Flamenco-style group blends traditional Spanish styles with modern pop, rock and funk.
August Alsina's life of perseverance: Friday, Aug. 18, 2017; Hip-hop star uses his talent and passion to rise above adversity.
‘Wind River’ explores a murder mystery in a marginalized community: Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017; While the case mostly proceeds along a straight line, writer/director Taylor Sheridan fills out the story with rich details of life on the reservation.
Las Vegan Kashena Sampson makes her own way in country music’s capital: Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017; Rolling Stone recently named her one of “10 new country artists you need to know.”
Steven Soderbergh returns with the uneven 'Logan Lucky': Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017; The heist comedy, which recalls the Ocean’s trilogy, is the inversion of the slick, high-end robberies of those star-studded studio features.
Feel-good documentary ‘Step’ dances to a familiar, pleasant tune: Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017; The subject is the step-dance team at the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, an inner-city charter school dedicated to sending every one of its students to college.
‘Brigsby Bear’ finds genuine emotion in a weird premise: Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017; Held in a bunker, James has been socialized entirely by watching episodes of a surreal kid-oriented sci-fi show.
Lady Gaga effectively mixes spectacle and songcraft: Monday, Aug. 14, 2017; She remains a fantastic live act, distilling the best of her music, her fashion sense, her vocal skills and her charismatic personality into a two-hour stage spectacle.
Indie bands keep energy high: Friday, Aug. 11, 2017; Young the Giant and Cold War Kids give fans hits and plenty of new material.
Boz Scaggs is a magnet for talent: Friday, Aug. 11, 2017; Artist has played alongside some of the biggest names in rock.
German drama ‘13 Minutes’ explores a plot against Hitler: Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017; The bomb ended up killing eight bystanders but no high-ranking Nazi officials, as Hitler had left the building 13 minutes earlier.
The evil doll returns in’ Annabelle: Creation’: Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017; Much of the movie is just marking time until evil forces show up to wreak havoc.
Epix series ‘Get Shorty’ puts criminals in the movie business: Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017; The show has almost nothing in common with its source material, either Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1995 movie or the 1990 Elmore Leonard novel on which it was based.
‘The Dark Tower’ reduces a rich fantasy epic to a generic action movie: Friday, Aug. 4, 2017; Although Jake is a major character in King’s books, his more prominent role here makes the movie come off like an opportunistic C-level YA adaptation rather than the realization of Stephen King's unique vision.
Empty thriller ‘Kidnap’ barely qualifies as a feature film: Friday, Aug. 4, 2017; Halle Berry strains to carry the movie, not quite selling Karla’s anguish via the TV-movie-level dialogue.
Dead Cross is a new kind of supergroup: Friday, Aug. 4, 2017; Well-known hard rockers unite to create a more aggressive sound.