Yes, Melissa McCarthy can go way over the top

At the end of ‘Tammy’ the title character suggests that she’s figured the best route to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Who here things that Melissa McCarthy would turn down a role that would offer a chance at that? And tell the stunt woman to take a hike? It would look hilarious, no?…

The Rock shows his sensitive side, and it’s a nice touch

When his part in the reshooting of “Fast and Furious 7” was completed, The Rock gathered the filming crews around him and had somebody take a shot with his phone, or iPad, or something like that. Anyway, it was a personal moment for the world-famous big man, because soon enough, Dwayne Johnson posted the photo…

Why did I hate the 4th Transformers? Let’s start with …

As I walked to my seat in the Destiny USA Syracuse theater for the “Transformers: Age of Extinction” Friday matinee, I noticed a whole lot of parents with young kids sitting on both sides of them. I couldn’t help but keep noticing as I settled in for the four, five, six, seven trailers. The little…

Let’s be thankful Eli Wallach, quite a character

Eli Wallach died Tuesday, and the actor was 98 years old. He got to work alongside the greats of many generations, in movies that your grandparents and parents and you, yourself, may indeed have loved. Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen and Al Pacino and Cameron Diaz. “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” “The Magnificent…

’22 Jump Street’ lets Jonah, Channing be silly still

I pretty much got what I expected from “22 Jump Street.” Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are undercover cup buddies who get sent to college to unravel the circumstances behind a drug-related death. In a funny, silly, just-above-dumb, slapstick-ish way. It’s summer, everywhere except for on the calendar, and even that changes come Saturday. Anyway,…

Are you ready to watch two dumb guys two decades later?

I was peacefully digging Jimmy Fallon’s wise humor hosting “The Tonight Show” a couple nights ago when Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels took over the guests’ couch. The living room was peaceful no longer. Enter pandemonium. “Dumb and Dumber To” is coming to theaters on Nov. 14, and the two stars were there to debut…

Two young stars shine brightly, and love conquers cancer

The first time I saw Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort together, they were playing a futuristic and quite different brother and sister in “Divergent.” OK was my reaction. About them individually. Collectively. The movie. Saturday I saw the two young actors star as Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters in “The Fault in Our Stars.”…

‘War of the Roses’ with grown kids, ‘Ant-Man’ big, too?

A quarter-century ago, movie-goers took great pleasure watching the Roses — that would be Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner — do very mean things to each other as their marriage fell apart right in front of the world’s very eyes. Now there’s a sequel in the works, also being adapted from a novel by Warren…