I don’t know about the beautiful part, but Lebanon under siege was definitely a sad backdrop for a charming romance between unfortunately mismatched lovers. The secondary characters were amusingly overdrawn, which set off the achingly real relationship between the beautiful and accomplished Yasmina and the effervescent but slightly goofy Nino. At the end, though, I mourned as much for Beirut as the couple.
A fun premise with a slew of cute one-liners, but the joke (one only) grew thin as the movie progressed to a toothless ending. Neither Olivia Wilde nor Cooper Hoffman merited 90 minutes of attention.
More episodic than dramatic, as befits a memoir. The scenes of oppression in Iran are harrowing and a reminder that strengthening the theocratic government there is not the least of the disastrous consequences of Trump’s misbegotten war. The movie’s star is pretty, but before the end of the overlong film I tired of seeing her full-screen face, at the expense of her underdrawn students.
A masterclass in acting: Penelope Cruz is sensational, but Olivia Wilde, Edward Norton and Seth Rogen make the case that the Academy should add an award for “Ensemble Performance.” The casting is also award-worthy, assuming you can accept the notion that Seth Rogen, like Woody Allen, is attractive to women. That the movie was shot on one set and takes place on one evening shows that crowd-pleasing cinema doesn’t require a big budget, CGI technology or Christopher Nolan ambition. Sort of like they do it in Europe.
A total delight! Not as deep or cinematically artistic as recent films on Elvis, Billy Joel or Bee Gees, but appropriate as hits by Peter and Gordon were lightweight in comparison. Who knew Peter Asher was behind so much great music – I didn’t.
No.
Four charming lead characters, amusingly evil bad guys, an interesting musical milieu and a calmly propulsive thriller plot make Tuner a fun watch. Dustin Hoffman is a kick, but the acting honors go to Leo Woodall, the latest Brit to take work away from an American. As in Disclosure Day, the ending is manufactured to make you feel good, if not make sense.
Spielberg keeps us in the dark for as long as he can, perhaps to keep us from recognizing the absurdity of the entire premise of his movie. In fact, it is easier to accept the presence of aliens than the plot developments involving humans, let alone the various powers of his magic wand. Eve Hewson, Emily Blunt, Colin Firth and Josh O’Connor are fine, and so is Jeremy Shamos.
The trouble with filming a “true story” is the viewer is always thinking, could this really have happened?, and in this case the mind generally thought, I don’t think so. On the fictional level, though, we were given a riveting performance by Andrew Scott that, however unlikely, kept us firmly involved, and of course the drama around D-Day is strong.
A thoroughly charming detective yarn spooled by sheep with personalities around humanoid caricatures. The many jokes made you feel good about getting them. The story was farfetched, but this is the first movie in several years that reduced me to tears at the end. A perfect way to spend a rainy Memorial Day Weekend Sunday morning.
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