We are part of a fortunate and collective audience. Through films, we can go back in time and we be part of history by the recreation of our past, as dark and uncomfortable as it may be. I believe the exposure to our past — especially by younger audiences — is essential. By exploring the…
In a phenomenal pairing, two powerhouses of the British stage join forces for a film which depicts the disastrous consequences that occur when their lives unexplainably intertwine. Ian McKellen (“All Is True”) is Roy Courtney, a man with a murky past and plenty of questionable connections. After arranging to have dinner with Betty (Helen Mirren,…
For some reason, 2019 seems to be the year of actors stepping into the director’s chair. Whether it is on limited circuits like Idris Elba’s “Yardie,” on streaming services like Amy Poehler’s “Wine Country,” or breaking out into the mainstream like Olivia Wilde’s delightful “Booksmart,” we are starting to witness an unusual spike in opportunities…
Isn’t It Romantic is extremely self aware, breaking the fourth wall with more frequency than “Deadpool.” It knows the tropes that define the rom-com genre and the rules at play. Thus, there is a desire to establish itself as something different. The problem here is — it can’t. It functions on the complexity level of…
Sure the Clown Prince of Crime got his accolades in “The Dark Knight,” but now with Joker it seems he’s finally gotten a film all to himself that he’s been deserving of. And it sure has a dark, dark Bernhard Goetz tone to it. Turns out Batman’s archnemesis was just an “ordinary” guy, living with…
“I am convinced there will be mutual understanding among human beings . . . in spite of all the suffering, the blood, the broken glass” — Pablo Neruda, Memoirs Based on the novel “My Abandonment” by Peter Rock and adapted from a screenplay by Granik and Anne Rosellini, Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace is the…
Each time that screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman team up, they create a singular female character that walks onscreen feeling fully formed and armed with lots to say. First it was Ellen Page’s precocious pregnant teen in “Juno,” then it was Charlize Theron’s perpetually perturbed author Mavis Gary in “Young Adult,” and now…
