A deeply personal play–and he wants you to know it–by Tom Stoppard, an apologia for not knowing until late in life that he is (100%) Jewish and most of his family died in and around the Holocaust. By honoring so many of his ancestors he assembles a cast of characters that challenges the audience’s understanding […]
A deft combination of the personal and political, pathos and humor, this historical drama was held together, above all, by Ricardo Darin’s remarkably human portrayal of Julio Strasseras, tasked with prosecuting the Argentine military junta for its decade of torture and disappearances. In composition and appeal his family echoed Tony Soprano’s, and the film was […]
The setting: how many dramas are set in and around a symphony orchestra? The dialogue: starts as a New Yorker interview and remains at that lofty level. The acting: Cate Blanchett is a lock for an Oscar nod, and the great German actress Nina Hoss (Barbara, Phoenix) is just as good in a subtler featured […]
(Theater). An intimate four-hander about, I think, the human need for companionship, and the agony that can result therefrom. It was beautifully staged and impeccably acted, but I found the story needlessly confusing–i.e., I didn’t understand the husband-wife relationship or when scenes were taking place. The casting of “differently abled” actors turned out to be […]
A loud and frantic collage of David Bowie’s personae, songs and thoughts, in that order, without concern for dramatic arc or, even, chronology. You could watch almost any fifteen minutes of the two-hour-plus film and see all there is to see. The songs are different, but none play out at length. Greater attention is given […]
A charitable view sees this as a Marvel super-hero tale, ignoring the “inspired by true events” prologue, for there is not a believable action or bit of dialogue in the entire film. The battles are bloody and one-sided and the moral message is simplistic: “palm oil good, slavery bad.” A mature Viola Davis is rather […]
It’s obvious early on, despite Javier Bardem’s suavity, that the “good” in the title is meant ironically. His badness, however–again, maybe due to Bardem’s inherent charm–never seems that bad: how would you react to a maniac setting up with a bullhorn and banners in front of your front door, and the personal attention he gives […]
A celebration, I guess, of an oddball teenager who makes a series of bad decisions in service to his love of cartooning. Amusing, not funny. You don’t want to feel sorry for people, but overall the picture here is fairly sad.
Aftersun Apples and Oranges Argentina 1985 Armageddon Time Azor Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn The Banshees of Inisherin The Bastard King Call Jane Catherine Called Birdy Causeway Crimes of the Future Cyrano Descendant Devotion Downton Abbey: New Era Dune Elvis EO Everything Everywhere All At Once The Fabelmans Fire of Love Flee Flux Gourmet […]
If I didn’t know “Malik” is Arabic for “king,” I would have thought it meant “Godfather,” so much does this two-hour, forty-minute Indian epic borrow from the Coppola classics, not only characters and plot, but several scenes that are direct lifts. (Then again, maybe in the Malayalam language that’s what it means.) Unfortunately, Fahadh Faasil, […]
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