[MSPFF] Perfectly lovely Mexican portrait of a grandfather-father-and-son living off and learning about the sea – a gentle sea over a coral reef in the Gulf of Mexico. The ruggedly handsome looks of the father and the way they caught fish and lobster made the movie fun to watch. The characters’ hermetic existence – “At […]
[MSPIFF] A repetitive and poorly edited documentary about a movie director in Nazi Germany, the anti-Semitic film he made and the current views of his descendants. There was no coherent point and we didn’t even get a very good sense of the underlying film. Just the same talking heads over and over, with nothing surprising […]
[MSPIFF] I have yet to see a film about Tibetan (or Mongolian) nomads that wasn’t overwhelmingly beautiful, and this was no exception. Unfortunately, there was no story or drama, except for two minutes when the yaks went missing. When committing to film a summer in the life of a nomad family, the documentary filmmakers need […]
Far and away the most beautiful movie I have seen, or probably will see, this year, Shirin Neshat’s study of Iran in 1953 packed a social and political wallop as well. The liner notes and the director’s dialogue explained much that I would have missed, notably America’s role in overthrowing democracy in Iran 50 years […]
Long on style, short on sense, these three made-for-TV crime dramas had a Twin Peaks flavor to them, with suspenseful music and an overriding sensation of never knowing exactly what was going on. Partly this was due to the Yorkshire accent, which begged for subtitling, but mostly it was due to the misdirection, which withheld […]
On my list of rock’n’roll biopics, this would come in at #27. Every well-worn element was present: dysfunctional family, rebellious teens, Svengali producer, drugs, clashing egos, band breakup, good (not great) soundtrack. On the other hand, I would be happy watching Kristen Stewart read the phonebook, so seeing her play hard-rocking Joan Jett was a […]
No criticisms, but the movie seemed rather ho-hum and superficial in comparison with the book. It kept me engaged, but mostly to see how the next plot development would be handled – what would be skipped, what elided.
Totally over-the-top performance by Nicolas Cage, one of my favorite ott actors, in film by Werner Herzog, my favorite ott director. Corrupt on the outside, with great police instincts on the inside, our lieutenant with the consuming drug addiction found new ways to be hysterical in every scene and somehow made me root for his […]
Extremely Hitchcockian music, by Alexandre Desplat, and the bleakly austere setting of “Martha’s Vineyard,” made one sense danger at every turn. Pierce Brosnan, Ewan MacGregor and especially Olivia Williams acted beautifully, and the pieces fit together like a Swiss watch. In short, this was a wonderfully made film. The only problem was the plot, which […]
No real surprises among this year’s Oscar winners, although Time’s prediction sheet managed 12 wrong, to 12 right. What dawned on me, however, as it must have before, is how much the Oscars are little more than a popularity contest, rather than a recognition of technical talent. I’m not referring to Sandra Bullock’s win over […]
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