Top Films by Year
Top Films of 2020
Top Films of 2017
Top Films of 2015
Duplicity – 4
Watchability 5. Likeability 4. Credibility 0. Even as a total fantasy, this star vehicle for Julia Roberts and Clive Owen left much to be desired. As a guessing game – when were there reactions real, when were they acting? – it wasn’t worth the effort. If you’re going to make a spy movie, bring back […]
Revolutionary Road – 5
How you feel about Revolutionary Road, either the book or the faithful movie adaptation, depends on how you react to Frank and April Wheeler, for this is really a character study. They are certainly not likeable characters, but that wouldn’t matter if they were comprehensible. And they should be equal. Unfortunately, Kate Winslet is an […]
Gran Torino – 3
Without question, the worst-acted movie of the year, and the plot warn’t much better. Other than Eastwood, the actors seemed to be reading their lines, after checking the teleprompter. Eastwood’s softening to the Hmong family next door belied his characterization, and Sue’s bold approach to him made little sense, either. On top of The Changeling, I […]
The Necessities of Life 3
The first hour was relentlessly depressing: Tiivii is told he has TB, is sent from his Arctic home to a big-city sanatorium, where no one speaks his language – and he makes no effort to learn French. Things perk up a bit when they locate an Inuit boy with TB who can translate, but the […]
The Country Teacher 7
Billed as Festival Director Roger Durling’s favorite, this Czech movie was beautifully and sensitively acted, but the simple story of a gay teacher’s coming to grips with his sexual preference undoubtedly appealed to the Durls more than me. (Why he didn’t rave about the somewhat similar Yngve surprised me.) Other than reflecting on how different […]