Top Films by Year
Top Films of 2020
Top Films of 2017
Top Films of 2015
The Nice Guys – 6.5
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.
Weiner – 7
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 […]
Popstar: Don’t Stop Don’t Stopping – 5
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 […]
Maggie’s Plan – 7.3
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 […]
Sing Street – 7
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 […]