There is a sub-genre of the war film that focuses on those away from combat. These films do not display the horrors of warfare or the camaraderie of men under fire, but instead the dramas of those left behind or serving their country behind the lines. Such a film is Testament of Youth, based on…
The great African-American poet Langston Hughes in his poem, “As I Grew Older” asks us to help him find his dream. “Help me to shatter this darkness,” he asks “to smash this night, to break this shadow into a thousand lights of sun, into a thousand whirling dreams of sun.” Though for many minorities, the…
It’s hard to say how much art there is in imitation, but Angelina Jolie certainly apes the old-fashioned Hollywood tear-jerking biopic like the best of them. Whatever that’s worth is where the debate lies in Unbroken, Jolie’s second feature-length directorial effort and a true story of a triumphing American if ever there was one. A…
If life is up and down with a few bumps along the way, what better representation is there than a cable car’s ride up and down a mountain? This particular cable car ride takes place in the riveting documentary Manakamana, a ride that brings passengers, both foreign and local, to the Manakamana Temple in the…
So it turns out that sixty years prior to Mel Brook’s epic 80s run of classics, Buster Keaton was busy beating him to the parodic punch. Keaton’s brand of physical gag comedy has always been wildly distinctive and brilliant, but his work is not generally so focused on the specific spoof. That brand of comedy…
Fairy tale revisionism has run rampant across screens of late, so with the marketplace heavily saturated, there’s no better time to revive Stephen Sondheim’s subversive musical “Into the Woods,” about a convergence of fairy tale characters discovering what lies on either side of happily ever after. Sondheim’s playful lyrics and rich humor ensure that his…
For years now, Tim Burton has seemingly lost the ability to surprise. So his latest picture succeeds on that modest level by actually being somewhat decent. Big Eyes, a strange true story about deceit in the world of art and marriage, is hardly Burton at his best, but it’s certainly Burton at his most enjoyable…
