May there always be an England, particularly an England of manor houses, landed gentry, beautiful clothes and complete paragraphs – even better when described by Jane Austen. Kate Beckinsale is marvelous as the conniving Lady Susan of the book’s title and everyone else revolves around her, with the men rather more buffoonish and the women […]
Aimless and about an hour too long, it gave the impression of being transcribed from the Scottish equivalent of Gone With the Wind and better suited to a TV miniseries – both of which turn out to be the case. Just when we thought we’d reached the end of a pointless but pleasant glance at […]
A fine comedic performance by Ryan Gosling as a bumbling L.A. private eye in this silly but harmless piffle that echoes much better noir films of the past. Russell Crowe lends heft to the proceedings, which go a little haywire once bullets, sadly but inevitably, start to spray.
1. Why would anyone let documentary filmmakers into their private lives when the backdrop is a national scandal? 2. Why would they let the filming continue when a new scandal erupts and all your relationships are under major stress? 3. That said, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for ex-Congressman Anthony Weiner who – major […]
This Andy Samberg update of Spinal Tap never got off the ground for me. I kept waiting for something to laugh at, or for music to enjoy, but the whole thing was too self-referential, too tongue-in-its-own-cheek, too artificial. Maybe if I thought Andy Samberg was funny – or at least interesting – I would have enjoyed […]
Another cuddly Greta Herwig vehicle – does she ever play other than the lovable not-quite-loser but not exactly Julia Roberts? There are a bundle of pleasantly smile-inducing moments, especially early on before a plot takes over, including a marvelous cameo for Wallace Shawn. Ethan Hawke is convincing as a charmer whose narcissism is overlooked but […]
There can never be too many movies about misfit high schoolers who form a rock band to get the girl of their dreams (although the Swedish We’re the Best was the exception proving the rule). This one from Ireland was a bit of a stretch, although the impossibly good music the tyro band produced was pleasanter […]
A very sweet movie about a young Cuban caught between his macho, ex-con father and his aspirations as a drag queen. There are plenty of cliches and moments of predictable melodrama, but the setting – the slums of Havana – is realistic enough that you forgive some predictabilities in this, surprisingly, Irish-made film. Most of […]
This movie’s view of college life makes Animal House seem realistic. Unfortunately, where Animal House is hilarious, Everybody is just obnoxious. In the 40 minutes we watched before walking out, there wasn’t a single enjoyable, let alone amusing, moment, no one I cared about, or anything resembling a plot. The characters’ personality traits were among my least favorite. […]
Despite having no knowledge of, experience with or particular interest in the subject of in-vitro fertilization, I was hooked from the start of this documentary, and it never let go. Director Amanda Micheli skillfully mixed science, human interest, joy, sadness, ethics and economics, with just the right touches of humor for leavening to tell a […]
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