There’s no place like this older folks’ home

Dev Patel battled himself this weekend. Chappie the Robot vs. Sonny the retirement hotel keeper. Oh, yeah, the crazy business world inhabited by Vince Vaughn was opening, too, this weekend, a trio to choose from at the Regal chain in the mega shopping, dining and entertainment complex of Destiny USA. My dear wife Karen and…

Catching up with Julia Goodwin’s story

I told you how excited I was about my latest piece of freelance writing for Central New York The Good Life Magazine. Baker High School junior Julia Goodwin’s smiling face makes the cover extremely attractive, does it not? And I think editor Linda Bien and graphic designer Peter Allen put together a most memorable package…

No matter the adjectives, it won’t be the Oscars

The MTV Movie Awards are on the horizon. Coming up April 12, in fact, and the cable network that used to play music videos is determined to be different. And of course that’s good. We don’t need another replay of the Golden Globes or the People’s Choice of the Oscars. In today’s installment of my…

Syracuse music, with The Works

And the winner is … Friday night, 13 best-of category recipients will be announced at the Syracuse Area Music Awards annual ceremony at the Palace Theatre. There also will be shiny black trophies handed out for the Brian Bourke Award for best new artist, hall of fame inductees (including Chris Goss of Masters of Reality)…

For the love of money or just love?

Will Smith and Margot Robbie most certainly look good together on the big screen in “Focus.” Why I even forgave Hollywood for matching up love leads that have a 21-year-old age difference, one of the great thorns in my side as I watch movies for my weekly Monday blog on the Syracuse New Times site.…

Bring back Ellen! Bring back Ellen!

Billy Crystal was a pretty darn good host of The Oscars back in his day. Ellen Degeneres was a really good host of The Oscars just one year ago. Sunday night Neil Patrick Harris was a train wreck. I wrote about it as part of my weekly Film News blog for the Syracuse New Times…

Martinfest generates another year of fun

Year three of Martinfest was not bigger in the numbers sense. The oh-so-cold and you-gotta-be-kidding-me snow just may have kept some folks away from the private get-together in the Syracuse city parking lot across the street from the official Winterfest. But the Martins — sister Michelle, brothers Scott and Kevin and cousin Jason — were…

Word says ‘Star Wars 7’ will kill off a character

The latest round of speculation surrounding the seventh installment of the “Star Wars” frachise says a beloved character from the initial triology will not be left standing a the end of “Star Wars Episode Seven: The Force Awakens.” In my weekly Fim News blog today on the Syracuse New Times site, I quote writer Joseph…