Many people can relate, and even confess, to being unmotivated in life. When ambition has disappeared and all our fears of rejection and failure become all too realistic, we retreat into what is comfortable. For once promising chef, twenty-something-year-old Charlie Brenner (spectacularly portrayed by Freddie Highmore, “The Art of Getting By”), this common feeling of…
Adam is a man (although not the first) living with his wife in the congested holy city of Nazareth. He is a member of the Christian Arab community, which is a population in decline in these parts. As the Angel Gabriel descended on Nazareth to announce the coming of the Messiah, Holy Air opens with…
Based “mostly” on a true story (in other words, fictional), Stephen Frears’ (“Florence Foster Jenkins”) Victoria and Abdul is an ode to the warmth of simple friendship and the wonders of British colonialism. Based on the book by Shrabani Basu with a screenplay by Lee Hall (“War Horse”), it is an engaging film about the…
We have a story in my family. I was three years old and grappling with the crisis of identity and insane jealousy that accompanied the new baby sister in my orbit. It must have been October because a small pumpkin was within my small reach. I seized said pumpkin and hurled it at said little…
The unique selling point of superhero cinema is the presentation of superpowers on screen and the exploration of what it means to super and to be a hero. Ever since “X-Men” took advantage of digital effects technology to render eye beams and human-generated lightning bolts, the finest examples of superhero cinema have grabbed hold of…
Surprisingly again, Reese Witherspoon (Lead Actress Oscar winner for “Walk the Line”) has settled for signing on the dotted line to partake in a woefully rudimentary romantic comedy. Usually considered somewhat of a spark plug in her plucky-type of roles (“Legally Blonde” being the most revered), Witherspoon is curiously reduced to playing what amounts to…
It’s probably safe to say, those who remember the explosive tennis court confrontation between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs were either exhilarated or exhausted by the gender-clashing sporting event dubbed the “battle of the sexes.” The mega-match, after all, forced the nation to take sides in defense of their gender pride. But what was…
