The whodunnit provides a certain kind of cinematic pleasure. The crime which is never straightforward. The host of suspects, all with motives and sometimes conflicting alibis. The elaborately twisting plot where half the fun is not knowing and the other half finding out. Through the decades and across media from literature to film to television…
In 1973, if any 16-year-old boy were to be kidnapped on the streets of Rome, it might warrant a brief mention in the papers. If the boys’ last name was Getty, however, it would be a major story followed closely throughout the world. Written by David Scarpa and based on John Pearson’s book “Painfully Rich:…
With dazzling visuals, abundant holiday charm and a committed performance from Dan Stevens (“Beauty and the Beast”), The Man Who Invented Christmas doesn’t quite garner a “humbug.” In fact, it is a real pleaser — light and playful as it may be. The origin story simplifies Charles Dickens’ trials and tribulations while writing “A Christmas…
Memory minds. It minds who you are, but, more particularly, who you were. It minds who you love, but, quite peculiarly, who you hate. For Zev and Max, it all has been a long ride till retaliation. For if it is true that no vengeance is possible without memory, no grievances exist when they cannot…
Al Pacino is one of the most revered and respected actors in Hollywood history, and for good reason. For over forty years, he has graced our screens with his electrifying presence, creating some of the silver screen’s most memorable characters. From the chilling resolve of Michael Corleone in “The Godfather Trilogy” to the histrionics of…
If Bella Swan of “Twilight” infamy is the archetype for every subordinate female lead, Lisbeth Salander, the punk fashionista at the crux of Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium” novel series, is her antithesis; her independence and inability to conform — physically and intellectually — makes her the forerunner of the New Age feminist movement. Pierced, inked, and…
Loosely based on director Mike Mills’ own experience as the son of a gay father who came out in his seventies, Beginners is the story of sexual and emotional repression, thwarted relationships, and fresh starts. Hal (Christopher Plummer), at age 75, tells his 38-year-old son Oliver (Ewan McGregor), that he is gay and has been…
