The story of Danish painter Einar Wegener’s transition into Lili Elbe seems tailor-made for cinematic examination. There’s a physical aspect that can be attended to visually as Lili (Eddie Redmayne, Oscar winner for “The Theory of Everything”) comes to the external forefront when Einar begins wearing dresses and wigs. And there’s a deeply internal aspect…
Needs to wake up. Must open his eyes. But he’s not asleep. The guy’s not sleeping; he just doesn’t want to be awake. John’s days aren’t at all a source of motivation, not even of mild excitement. He looks tired. He is tired. Tired of needing so much and of being needed even more. Tired…
Life is all about taking risks. The decisions we make, no matter how big or how small they may seem, determines different outcomes we can’t always predict. Some of those moments will cause us to jump for joy in victory, while other moments will bring us to our knees in defeat. It shouldn’t surprise us…
So, say you start a conversation, a very good conversation. How so? Why is it so good? Is it the other with whom you converse? Is it the topic? Is it the commonalities slowly weaving a lasting bond between both interlocutors? Or between speeches? What is it that makes for a good conversation? Maybe it…
Filmed in stop-motion animation, Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman’s (“Synecdoche, New York”) Anomalisa is a look at loneliness and its psychological effects. Filled with existential despair, it is also funny, surreal, and thought-provoking, a film that can touch you in ways you never thought possible. Nominated for Best Animated film at the 2016 Oscars and…
Few films actually have an opportunity to affect presidential politics (the last one was probably Phillip Kaufman’s “The Right Stuff” in 1983, which featured a glowing characterization of John Glenn — played by Ed Harris — who was then running for the Democratic nomination), but 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, directed by Michael…
Condensing a love story into a mere twelve minutes of screen time poses some considerable challenges for the filmmakers and actors, but it can make for very lean storytelling devoid of any fat. That’s the case with Stutterer, which manages to cover the main bases of the classic romantic movie formula within its very tight…
