Top Films by Year
Top Films of 2020
Top Films of 2017
Top Films of 2015
The Mysteries of Lisbon – 7
One take is that the entire movie is the coma-induced imaginings of Joao, an abandoned bastard longing to know his real parents. That would explain the fancy balls, the imprisoned duchess, the Dickensian coincidences and the consistent world view of nobles flirting, seducing and changing identities. Another take: let’s make a movie that animates all […]
The Hedgehog – 7.8
A very French look at existence through the eyes, and videocamera, of 11-year-old Paloma, brilliantly acted by one Garance Le Guillermic, a “child actor” in physique only. Just as wonderful is the title character played by Josiane Balasko, a frumpy concierge who reads Tolstoy in private. While the ending alludes to Anna Karenina, I’m sure […]
The Mill and the Cross – 8
A tableau vivant in which ‘reality’ is a painting – specifically, Pieter Breugel’s “Road to Cavalry.” The movie obscures Jesus’s crucifixion amid 16th-century Flemish peasants and red-tunicked Spanish soldiers, just as Breugel did in his metaphor-filled canvas. With minimal soundtrack and even less dialogue, watching this film becomes an intense experience, and trying to piece […]
Moneyball – 7.5
By treating baseball players as commodities – to be coldly evaluated, drafted, traded and released – Moneyball has made the players I watch nightly on television seem more human than I have regarded them before. I can’t, however, share in the general adulation accorded Brad Pitt. He floats above the locker room more movie star […]
The Guard – 7.5
A deft amalgam of rowdy humor and murderous criminality, this dramedy rode the broad back of Brendan Gleeson to a wistful conclusion that made you mourn the end of the story, and perhaps the character. Unfortunately, both were let down by Don Cheadle’s unbelievable American counterpart, more Stepin Fetchit than crime-stopper. What a lone FBI […]