From the opening frame to its final musical note, When Marnie Was There evokes bittersweet recall of childhood memories; a love-letter to breezy seaside holidays, passionate yet fleeting friendships, and the anxiety of growing into an adult world. Animation studio Studio Ghibli almost seems to have selected these themes to reflect their own farewell. In…
Weiner, a documentary about the 2013 New York City mayoral campaign of Anthony Weiner, is very funny and very painful. It’s also one of the most engaging and insightful political movies I’ve seen. Co-directors Elyse Steinberg and former Weiner chief of staff Josh Kriegman were given extraordinary access to Anthony Weiner as he attempted to…
I normally do not hold much hope for sequels that appear more than five years after the first installment (“The Two Jakes” comes immediately to mind). And although they fared alright with “Monsters, Inc.” and “Monsters University” (a prequel technicality), the same feeling came over me when I heard Pixar/Disney was releasing Finding Dory, a…
I feel horror movies have grown more derivative than innovative as of late. The recent influx of supernatural horror has begun to wear out the genre’s tropes, and while every once in a blue moon we get a critical and audience darling like “The Conjuring” that’s only after we finish wading through a litany of…
Duncan Jones’ Warcraft certainly has a lot to live up to. After years of dull, uninspired cinematic translations of classic video games, one of the most fresh and promising new directors has stepped up to bat to try his hand at arguably the most popular franchise in the gaming realms. Duncan Jones shined with his…
As I have written before regarding movies of this ilk, the trick to any decent film featuring magic, or an element thereof, is to walk a tightrope between being just a bit smarter than the audience (or at least SOME members of it) and not being too accessible as to reveal too much to them….
Did you know that it takes a village to raise a horse? When it comes to cultivating anything: Time, patience, tenderness, love, and care are all essential. Many of us want something and success (in whatever area that excites you) is almost always on the top of the list. To experience the potential payoffs of…
