Top Films by Year
Top Films of 2020
Top Films of 2017
Top Films of 2015
Blitz – 6
Steve McQueen is an admirable writer-director of historical race-based dramas, and this film. is no exception. Unfortunately, it is easier to admire than to connect with, as bland characters and an unfocused story don’t measure up to the special effects and crowd scenes of London in the blitz. Young George reenacts “Lassie Come Home,” but […]
A Real Pain – 7.8
Writer/director/actor Jesse Eisenberg has crafted a charming short story of two cousins on a Holocaust tour of Poland, not a minute too long or too short. Unfortunately for one’s viewing pleasure, Kieran Culkin’s neurotic, or “unfiltered,” character is a real pain, albeit not the one alluded to in the film’s title (or is it?). Hearing […]
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band – 7
I love Bruce, his band, his music, his performances, but there was nothing new in this documentary about his latest tour. I would have learned what his producer Jon Landau looked like if I hadn’t just had dinner with him last month in New York.
Oh, Mary!
The curtain opened and hilarity ensued. And ensued and ensued. Historical inaccuracy and period costumes added a patina to the comedy that made the farce engaging. The actors, especially Conrad Ricamora as “Mary’s Husband,” were so good and the action so bawdy that there wasn’t a moment or scene that wasn’t funny, but Cole Escola […]
Anora – 7.5
A directorial tour de force from Sean Baker, this tale of an erotic dancer caught up with a Russian oligarch’s son trafficked in extreme after extreme without losing touch with reality and very funny moments without descending to farce. It was, however, rather longer than necessary: the opening act of excess carried on well after […]