What do you do when you’ve made multiple successful films in New Zealand, graduated to Hollywood blockbuster franchise installments while maintaining your idiosyncrasies and then won an Academy Award? In the case of Taika Waititi, the answer is to make another blockbuster where the idiosyncrasies are even more pronounced, to an extent that may amuse…
Is Le Mans ’66 (also known as “Ford v Ferrari” in the U.S.) about racing? It’s a question comparable to “Is ‘Jaws’ about a shark?” or “Is ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ about espionage?” Certainly racing features in the film, leading up to, as it does, the 1966 Le Mans Grand Prix, as well as other…
Altogether, Hostiles is both sprawling and narrow, profoundly tense and equally mellow. That might sound like a film of contradictions — a message too lost in the majestic western landscapes. That’s not quite the case, though. Scott Cooper’s western carries the same slow-burn sensibilities as his 2013 down-home thriller, “Out of the Furnace,” which also,…
There have not been many exceptional War War I films save for a handful like “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Grand Illusion,” “Dr. Zhivago,” “Joyeux Noel,” “The White Ribbon,” “Paths of Glory,” “Gallipoli” and “All Quiet on the Western Front” (okay, that may be more than a handful). Recent attempts such as “Flyboys” and “War Horse” and…
Finding fantastic art that captures your amazement can be an exhilarating experience. So many thoughts will sprint through your mind as you try to figure out how and why a magnificent piece of work came to be. But sometimes, we don’t have to be alone in that process. We often share things that are fascinating…
When everything in your life is looking rosy, there is always someone who will tell you that your happiness is on shaky ground. Though most of the time these naysayers will not profit from your misfortune, such is not the case in The Big Short, Adam McKay’s (“Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”) hard-hitting comedy/drama about…
Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings may be light on characterization and depth, but it is abundant in atmosphere and scene-to-scene, gripping drama. It’s biblical by nature, and although it does not delve as far as some would like into the lives of Moses or Ramses II, it is well-intentioned, thought-provoking and flashy. The CGI,…
