Top Films by Year
Top Films of 2020
Top Films of 2017
Top Films of 2015
Oppenheimer – 9
Big–in themes, personalities, production values, cast, drama, historical significance and lessons for today. Three hours and I never looked at my watch. Christopher Nolan’s trademark nonlinear storytelling technique–confusing and distracting in Memento and Tenet, inter alia–works to heighten the tension in scenes with more conversation than action. With almost 80 named characters it can be a […]
The Night of the 12th – 6
It takes away suspense when the film announces at the outset that it’s about a murder that won’t get solved. The rest of the movie shows why other movies eschew that route. What, then, was this about? The relationships? Ho-hum. The characters? Not very interesting. Societal issues? Not very deep. Mildly interesting as a French […]
The Innocent – 8
A cleverly plotted, very funny crime caper peopled with delightfully idiosyncratic characters. Every moment is fun an the relationships are touching. Only in French cinema would the robbery target be a shipment of caviar.
Past Lives – 6.5
A sweet love story, although how sweet depends on one’s view of actress Greta Lee, whom I found more off-putting than charming. Maybe it’s a prejudice against Asian actresses (see Hong Chau in Showing Up and whoever was in Crazy Rich Asians and Everything Everywhere All At Once), but I missed the vulnerability of Julia Roberts, et al. […]
Vengeance – 6.5
A fun cross-cultural spoof, with a bright-lights New Yorker writer turning his trip to West Texas into a podcast, like he’s visiting a zoo, only to find that the animals can not only talk but have a lot on their minds. The lesson in self-awareness is less interesting than the characters he runs into, and if […]