Max Weiss is the managing editor of Baltimore and a film and pop culture critic. You can catch her movie reviews, Saturdays, on WBAL-TV and read her thoughts on everything from last night's episode of The Good Wife to the latest Godard film @maxthegirl. She also plays a mean cello.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s extraordinary tale of revenge and survival.
Why can't the brilliant Tarantino just grow up already?
Adam McKay's improbably entertaining film about the 2008 housing collapse.
Story of an American dreamer feels more condescending than inspiring.
Revel in Todd Hayne's stunningly gorgeous, heartbreaking, and romantic film about forbidden love.
Managing editor Max Weiss previews the January issue of Baltimore magazine.
Here are my 25 favorite films of the year.
The nostalgia is strong with this one.
Twenty moments in the year that changed Baltimore.
Ron Howard's telling of the true story behind Moby Dick is handsomely mounted but fails to inspire.
Rocky serves as a mentor to Apollo Creed's son.
Story of the enterprising reporters who uncovered the Catholic priest scandal is our generation's All the President's Men.
It didn't feel true to the series.
Managing editor Max Weiss previews the December issue of Baltimore magazine
One girl's journey from Ireland to Brooklyn, told with enormous care and empathy.
True story of the Chilean mine collapse is a real crowd pleaser. Should it be?
Daniel Craig is over it...and we can totally tell.
Bradley Cooper as a rebel chef who wears a leather jacket and rides a motorcyle. Stop laughing, it's actually not horrible!
Extraordinary film shows how far a mother will go to protect her child.
Managing editor Max Weiss previews the November issue of Baltimore magazine.
Derivative and uninspired supernatural action flick is also not a great vehicle for its star.
Guillermo del Toro's gorgeous gothic horror is a must-see.
Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has found his latest cinematic surrogate in the visionary Apple founder.
Despite a few hitches, this fictionalized account of Phillipe Petit's famous Twin Tower wire walk will take your breath away.
In this gripping morality tale, a young man takes a job with the same predatory real estate agent who evicted him.
How do you survive on an uninhabitable planet all by yourself?
De Niro and Hathaway shine in the latest helping of Nancy Meyers's irresistible cinematic comfort food.
No tweets, no snapchats, no texts. Just real talk between some of Baltimore's most compelling people.
Depp is great, but we've seen this movie before.
Managing editor Max Weiss previews the October issue of Baltimore magazine.
Brace yourselves. 3D action film takes you right up on that snowy peak.
How did this lame-o movie even get made?
M. Night Shyamalan loosens up and reminds us how good he can be in this comedic horror film.
Robert Redford and Nick Nolte hit the Appalachian Trail
Lily Tomlin shines as a cranky old woman who bonds with her teenage granddaughter.
Zac Efron vehicle tries (and fails) to be the Saturday Night Fever of EDM.
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach are at it again.
Our annual salute to our favorites in arts, food, fun, lifestyle, news, and service.
A sexual coming of age story about a (gasp!) teenage girl.
Managing editor Max Weiss previews the September issue of Baltimore magazine.
Revel in this front row seat to the political debates that changed television history.
You'll enjoy this stylish, if superficial, period spy thriller.
Biopic about the rise and fall of N.W.A. makes for riveting—and sadly relevant—entertainment.
Jason Segel gives a towering performance as the brilliant, tortured novelist David Foster Wallace.
Meryl Streep as a tattooed rocker in a dive bar? Why not?
Tom Cruise is just the man for the job (again) in the latest, high-flying installment of the Mission Impossible franchise.
Managing editor Max Weiss previews the August issue of Baltimore magazine.
The would be romance is bogus, but Nat Wolff is a star.
Antoine Fuqua's sentimental boxing film is corny, derivative—and satisfying.
Amy Schumer flips the script on rom-com cliches.
It's Paul Rudd's time to join the Marvel Universe. Whatever.
Heartbreaking documentary on Amy Winehouse plays like a horror film where the monster is fame.
Funny and sly comedy about life as a "geek" in the 'hood.
Bigger isn't better in this pandering sequel.
Independent film's answer to The Fault in Our Stars is clever but insincere.
A boy, his dog . . . and a really lame script.
Our column reviewing the five most noteworthy moments in Baltimore sports.
Managing editor Max Weiss previews the July issue of Baltimore magazine.
Pixar meets Freud in this breathtakingly inventive comedy.
A penetrating look at the genius and personal demons of The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson.
The gender stereotypes are dinosaurs, too.
Just call her McCarthy. Melissa McCarthy.
The boys are back. They should've stayed away.
In this case, Aloha definitely means goodbye.
Even silly disaster films need a little perspective.
A happy pill in cinematic form.
Family friendly sci-fi starts out magical, gets bogged down by a moralizing and uninspired third act.
Managing editor Max Weiss previews the June issue of Baltimore magazine.
Some thoughts on the Mad Men finale.
Director George Miller proves that he's still got it with this gnarly and exuberant reboot.
Liked the movie? Then you'll like the play. It's nearly an exact replica.
You'll delight in this sensuous adaptation of Thomas Hardy's classic novel.
Second installment of the Marvel juggarnaut still has appeal, but loses a bit of its novelty factor.
Just in the nick of time.
How SNL tried—and failed—to cover the Baltimore protests.
On the pains of looking like Blake Lively for eternity.
Beware of the creepy mad genius making a fembot in the mountains.
Managing editor Max Weiss previews the May issue of Baltimore magazine.
We're so there.
Jonah Hill and James Franco play it serious in this bungled true-crime drama.
Meet a middle-aged couple who don't want to grow up.
Latest Nicholas Spark romance doesn't offer much beyond the novelty of seeing Clint Eastwood's kid in action.
Helen Mirren takes on the Austrian government to bring her family's stolen painting home. So why isn't this film more exciting?
The franchise handles Paul Walker's death with grace.
You'll never look at someone walking toward you the same way.
Kiddie fare irritates a bit more than it entertains.
How do you make Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart unfunny? Watch this film to find out!
An alarmingly jacked up Sean Penn stars in this tired action thriller.
Second film in the dystopian series starts slow and never quite takes off.
A friendship between two old gangsters is destroyed when one kills the other's son.
Kenneth Branagh's live-action version of the classic fairytale is beautiful, magical, and...totally unnecessary.
It's the script that feels unfinished in this bizarre comedy.
Will Smith stars in a conman movie without any good cons.
Managing editor Max Weiss previews the March issue of Baltimore magazine.
Thoughts on the 2015 Oscars ceremony.
A relationship musical where you're rooting for the characters to break up.
Boyhood or Birdman? Birdman or Boyhood? It's Time To Pick Sides
It's like the '80s all over again!
A street smart young man gets a chance to be James Bond in this cartoonish thriller.
Over-stuffed sci-fi is like three films crammed into one.