School movies, as a general rule of thumb, can usually be counted on to feature either an inspirational teacher or a terrible one. There’s little room for in-between. Kristóf Deák’s dramatic short Sing (Mindenki) opts for the latter, telling the tale of a kids’ school choir in Budapest that’s run by perfectionist singing teacher, Miss…
The end of the world is a lonely proposition in Lluís Quílez’s grim 30-minute short Graffiti, about a single survivor in a post-apocalyptic city who wanders around the shell of an empty apartment complex with his dog in search of food, people, anything. Edgar (Oriol Pla, “Year of Grace”) doesn’t have a lot to live…
With a cut and a kick and an upbeat note, Damien Chazelle sure paints a pretty picture of classic Hollywood musical nostalgia, but La La Land is more plastic pastiche than poignant portrait. It’s a technical marvel that’s dramatically weightless, a boldly bravura effort from writer/director Damien Chazelle and his crew that’s also too cutesy…
In TV, it’s called a bottle episode. Twenty minutes, (or forty, or sixty . . .) that take place on a single set with a limited cast. Though you might struggle to bring one to mind immediately, it’s quite a common occurrence, happening in shows like “Community” (they take real pride in their bottle episodes),…
Florence Foster Jenkins singing voice was flat and off-key, yet her generosity to others, friendship with music greats such as Arturo Toscanini, and love of music brought happiness to many during the dark days of World War II. Labeled by some intemperate critics as “the worst singer in the world,” she is given something of…
Two powerful lead performances drive Fences, a tale about a black family living in Pittsburgh during the mid-1950s, that, while the overall experience is mostly negative, the impact is nonetheless a powerful and emotional undertaking. The screenplay is adapted from the 1983 Pulitzer Prize winning play by the late August Wilson, which was revived in…
“And I shall rest my head between two worlds, in the Valley of the Vanquished” — Léolo, Jean-Claude Lauzon Whether Harvey Weinstein’s purpose in producing Lion was to add to his collection of Oscars or just to tell a sweet, heartfelt story about a lost boy searching for his home, the result is that he…
