Josh Bell
Story Archive
-
Screen
‘It Comes at Night’ explores the horror of uncertainty
Thursday, June 8, 2017 The movie answers none of its questions, but writer-director Trey Edward Shults builds an effective atmosphere of mistrust and dread.
-
Screen
A Marine and her dog form an unbreakable bond in ‘Megan Leavey’
Thursday, June 8, 2017 What could easily have ended up as two hours of patriotic pandering mostly avoids taking the easy way out.
-
Screen
What’s being planned for Universal’s Dark Universe?
Thursday, June 8, 2017 Bride of Frankenstein, the Invisible Man and more.
-
Screen
‘Baywatch’ drowns in bad jokes and worse action
Thursday, May 25, 2017 Once again, the only thing it has going for it: attractive stars in skimpy attire.
-
Screen
Clumsy Netflix military satire ‘War Machine’ sends mixed messages
Thursday, May 25, 2017 Brad Pitt plays Gen. Glen McMahon like he’s in an SNL sketch, with exaggerated mannerisms and an affected vocal delivery.
-
Screen
Indie drama ‘The Lovers’ explores infidelity of a different kind
Thursday, May 25, 2017 Tracy Letts and Debra Winger make the most of their rare leading roles, and the director trusts them to convey the story’s complex emotions, often wordlessly.
-
Noise
Paramore’s ‘After Laughter’ embraces a candy-coated, synth-heavy ’80s-style sound
Thursday, May 18, 2017 “Hard Times” could fit on an old Blondie album, and the infectious “Fake Happy” could be the “Walking on Sunshine” of sadness.
-
A&E
Country man Chris Stapleton spreads out on his second album
Wednesday, May 10, 2017 It's another assured, musically accomplished collection of country and roots-rock.
-
A&E
Film review: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ doubles down on what worked
Thursday, May 4, 2017 The tone is snarky, the new casting is eclectic and the soundtrack again resembles the compilation albums that used to be sold on late-night TV.
-
Screen
Film review: ‘The Dinner’ gorges on self-importance
Thursday, May 4, 2017 There’s a lot of vague dialogue and plenty of non-illuminating flashbacks, including a long digression about the Battle of Gettysburg.
-
Noise
Thriller ‘The Circle’ delivers a heavy-handed warning about technology
Friday, April 28, 2017 Emma Watson, with her shaky American accent, never quite gets a handle on her character.
-
Noise
Las Rageous Day 2: Avenged Sevenfold, Mastodon and more
Monday, April 24, 2017 The closing set provided a proper send-off for a successful first-year festival.
-
Noise
Las Rageous Day 1 recap: Killswitch, Coheed, Anthrax and Godsmack
Monday, April 24, 2017 UFC president Dana White was up close for Godsmack—and not ensconced in some VIP area.
-
Screen
'The Lost City of Z’ has too much restraint for its own good
Thursday, April 20, 2017 The title promises something a lot more fantastical than the movie delivers, and the dull restraint is a poor substitute for all-out jungle madness.
-
A&E
Catching up with Scott Ian of Anthrax
Thursday, April 20, 2017 Lone band founder and guitarist/songwriter talks festivals, fans and DJ gigs at the Hard Rock.
-
Screen
‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ returns with its same low-fi charm
Friday, April 14, 2017 Bad movies are in endless supply, and making fun of them never needs to stop.
-
Screen
More Smurfs? The little blue annoyances return in ‘Lost Village’
Thursday, April 6, 2017 The storyline introduces a whole group of new merchandising-ready Smurfs when a hidden village of Smurf ladies pops up.
-
Screen
Werner Herzog makes interesting mistakes with ‘Queen of the Desert’ and ‘Salt and Fire’
Wednesday, April 5, 2017 The two narrative movies being released in the U.S. this week prove that he might be better off sticking to documentaries at this point in his career.
-
A&E
‘Land of Mine’ and ‘The Zookeeper’s Wife’ represent the latest variations on the World War II drama
Thursday, March 30, 2017 Both tell valuable stories in a way that mostly recalls other, more vital versions of stories from the same historical period.
-
Screen
Kristen Stewart sees dead people in the confounding ‘Personal Shopper’
Thursday, March 30, 2017 Part ghost story, part glossy lifestyle porn, part murder mystery and part existential meditation, it never quite fits together.
-
A&E
‘Ghost in the Shell’ replicates a sci-fi classic
Thursday, March 30, 2017 Even if the plot doesn’t hold together, the visuals just about make up for it.
-
Screen
‘The Discovery’ fumbles the big questions
Thursday, March 30, 2017 This sci-fi high concept seems like it might warrant a theatrical release, but its ambitions are small-scale.
-
Screen
Bad day at the office: ‘The Boss Baby’ deserves to be fired
Thursday, March 30, 2017 What the hell do Hollywood studios think kids like?
-
A&E
Drew Marvick is building a Vegas horror-movie empire
Thursday, March 30, 2017 Pool Party Massacre debuts at Eclipse April 1.
-
Screen
‘Power Rangers’ fails as a movie and as a nostalgia trip
Thursday, March 23, 2017 It wants both to represent a dark, gritty take for the childhood fans who are now (allegedly) mature adults and to recapture the cheesy, campy tone of the original show.
-
Screen
Shirley MacLaine prepares for the end in the phony ‘The Last Word’
Thursday, March 23, 2017 It’s barely a step above the Hallmark Channel Christmas movie she showed up in last year.
-
A&E
‘Power Rangers’ and ‘CHiPs’ are the latest results of Hollywood’s brand obsession
Thursday, March 23, 2017 Hollywood studios remain fixated on virtually any recognizable brand name.
-
Screen
'Wilson' explores the life of an off-putting weirdo
Thursday, March 23, 2017 Woody Harrelson throws himself into the title role but isn’t enough to hold together a disjointed movie.
-
Noise
Concert review: Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell steps up for a receptive first-time Vegas audience
Sunday, March 19, 2017 Isbell spent the evening connecting with a much larger crowd than usually shows up in Vegas for alt-country and Americana acts.
-
Screen
‘Shots Fired’ tells a politically charged crime story
Thursday, March 16, 2017 Sanaa Lathan gives a strong performance as a veteran Department of Justice investigator sent to North Carolina to get to the truth behind a shooting.
-
Screen
Low-key British drama ‘The Sense of an Ending’ keeps things too quiet
Wednesday, March 15, 2017 Jim Broadbent is always a welcome presence, so it’s refreshing to see the veteran character actor get a relatively rare leading role.
-
A&E
Gorilla warfare: Humans disturb a monster’s habitat in 'Kong: Skull Island'
Wednesday, March 8, 2017 This is an all-out action movie, livelier and far more concise than Kong’s last big-screen outing from Peter Jackson in 2005.
-
Screen
Teen drama ‘Before I Fall’ keeps repeating its basic life lessons
Thursday, March 2, 2017 Director Ry Russo-Young doesn’t bring any dramatic complexity to the story, but she does give it an appealing visual style.
-
Screen
Period drama ‘A United Kingdom’ plays it safe
Thursday, March 2, 2017 The true story is fascinating, but the dramatization is boring.
-
Screen
'Table 19' stumbles through a series of stale jokes
Thursday, March 2, 2017 The premise sounds like the idea for a mediocre network sitcom—possibly because it was.
-
Screen
Oscar-nominated documentary ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ powerfully examines race relations
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017 Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin’s words remain distressingly resonant as he describes resentment, anger and insensitivity blacks endure.
-
Screen
‘Taken’ makes a failed transition to TV
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017 For a show called ‘Taken,’ there’s shockingly little taking.
-
Noise
Album review: Ryan Adams keeps making Ryan Adams music on ‘Prisoner’
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017 Inspired by Adams’ divorce from Mandy Moore, most of the songs are melancholy and downbeat.
-
Screen
Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize Winner comes to Netflix
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017 ‘I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore’ marks a promising directorial debut for Macon Blair.
-
Screen
‘Get Out’ taps into socially relevant fear
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017 Its dark, gruesome horrors mark a departure for Key and Peele’s Jordan Peele.
-
Noise
Concert review: A subdued AFI leaves fans wanting more
Monday, Feb. 20, 2017 The California goth-punk veterans are an efficient hard-rock machine, as they proved over the course of 70 minutes.
-
Screen
International action movie ‘The Great Wall’ represents a failed compromise
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017 Chock full of international stars and low-rent CGI, this money-driven compromise seems designed to please no one.
-
Screen
Comedy ‘Fist Fight’ deserves to be knocked out
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017 Charlie Day's Mr. Campbell is far from the only character in this movie who deserves a pop in the mouth.
-
Screen
Boulder City’s Dam Short Film Festival smoothly expands its reach
Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017 New this year was an evening of special showcases before the first full day of the festival, including the entertaining Dealer, a linked collection of short films from Vegas filmmakers.
-
Screen
‘Fifty Shades Darker’ manages to make kinky sex boring
Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 Dakota Johnson is again playful and mischievous, at times coming across like she’s mocking the material.
-
Entertainment
Sensory cinema: From shaking seats and scents to room-filling visuals, which experience fits you?
Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017 We’re not content with stadium seats and a massive screen anymore. The cinema experience is all about the extra dimensions and sensations.
-
Screen
‘The Space Between Us’ drowns its potentially smart sci-fi in romantic cheese
Friday, Feb. 3, 2017 Asa Butterfield and Britt Robertson star.
-
Screen
Pedro Almodóvar examines a troubled woman’s life in ‘Julieta’
Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017 Julieta is a bit meandering and digressive, but Almodóvar’s skill at bringing vibrant female characters to the screen serves him well.
-
Screen
Oscar-nominated Iranian drama ‘The Salesman’ puts its characters through emotional trauma
Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017 Asghar Farhadi won the 2012 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for A Separation.