Top Films by Year
Top Films of 2020
Top Films of 2017
Top Films of 2015
The Horseman – 6.5
Every scene was an art shot, and in case you hadn’t noticed, the movie ended with a tableau of Bingham’s Jolly Flatboatmen. The story, however, wasn’t quite Lonesome Dove, despite Tommy Lee Jones and the incident-beset cross-country trek (who knew Nebraska was west of Iowa?). Why anyone would’ve done anything they did, or how they […]
Diplomacy – 7
Once one accepted that this was a stage play, not a docudrama, the philosophical back-and-forth between German General Chotlitz and Swedish Consul Nordling could be appreciated as an intellectual exploration of human motives, rather than a somewhat incredible portrayal of how Paris was saved from Nazi destruction. There was no reason Chotlitz would have allowed […]
The Theory of Everything – 7.8
Wonderful performances by Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, embodying, respectively, physical deterioration and maturation. Inasmuch as we sort of knew Stephen Hawking’s story it was, in a way, more interesting to follow the path of Jane Wilde, who started cute as a button then had to deal with a crippled husband, three children and her […]
Nightcrawler – 7
Considering this film took place at night, in stressful situations, featuring many working stiffs, in a very noir setting, it was remarkable that no one smoked. Maybe, then, it was no coincidence that at the very end of the credits, where they usually disclaim hurting any animals during filming, there was a line that no […]
Rosewater – 4
Let’s hope Jon Stewart keeps his day job. I was never engaged and could have walked out at any point; I did so after about 70 minutes. Gael Garcia Bernal was an odd choice to play the lead; it felt like he was a tourist, floating through. When I think of how gripping Argo was […]