Top Films by Year
Top Films of 2020
Top Films of 2017
Top Films of 2015
Killers of the Flower Moon – 6
There is surprisingly little drama in this movie, perhaps because we knew the story but just as likely because the pacing is so s-l-o-w. After three hours forty minutes with no resolution, Martin Scorsese flips to a simulated radiocast to wrap things up, leaving his characters to meet their fates offstage. My other problem is […]
The Pigeon Tunnel – 4
This nominal documentary is little more than an interview with David Cornwall (a/k/a John Le Carre) replete with reenactments of recollections and occasional film clips. The subject, however, seems to be Cornwall’s con man father and his effect on his son’s view of betrayal. As for Le Carre’s writing or his books, there’s barely a […]
New York Theater, Fall ’23
In Dig, by Theresa Rebeck at 59E59 Theaters, every line of dialogue is a speech, illuminating the speaker or advancing the plot. The actions are often loaded metaphors too: Roger’s repotting a damaged plant in the opening scene, giving it food, attention and room to grow, previews the main course of the play, a repotting of […]
Here – 3
This Belgian film spelled its title with a backward “r,” but it could just as well have been called “Where,” or even “Why?” The film festival programmer previewed it as “a film about soup, moss and love.” If he had added rain, a car in a repair shop and a Chinese diner he would have […]
Damsels in Distress (2012) – 6.5
Interesting that less than a dozen years ago a film could run wild with jokes about suicide. The humor also seemed dated, unless you’re still reading the Harvard Lampoon and watching Chevy Chase flicks. My viewing partner called it “stupid,” but I found it stupid funny. Greta Gerwig starred, with her trademark intelligent-naive affect, leading […]