Top Films by Year
Top Films of 2020
Top Films of 2017
Top Films of 2015
Leopoldstadt – B
A deeply personal play–and he wants you to know it–by Tom Stoppard, an apologia for not knowing until late in life that he is (100%) Jewish and most of his family died in and around the Holocaust. By honoring so many of his ancestors he assembles a cast of characters that challenges the audience’s understanding […]
Argentina 1985 – 8.5
A deft combination of the personal and political, pathos and humor, this historical drama was held together, above all, by Ricardo Darin’s remarkably human portrayal of Julio Strasseras, tasked with prosecuting the Argentine military junta for its decade of torture and disappearances. In composition and appeal his family echoed Tony Soprano’s, and the film was […]
Tar – 7.5
The setting: how many dramas are set in and around a symphony orchestra? The dialogue: starts as a New Yorker interview and remains at that lofty level. The acting: Cate Blanchett is a lock for an Oscar nod, and the great German actress Nina Hoss (Barbara, Phoenix) is just as good in a subtler featured […]
Cost of Living – B
(Theater). An intimate four-hander about, I think, the human need for companionship, and the agony that can result therefrom. It was beautifully staged and impeccably acted, but I found the story needlessly confusing–i.e., I didn’t understand the husband-wife relationship or when scenes were taking place. The casting of “differently abled” actors turned out to be […]
Moonage Daydream – 5.5
A loud and frantic collage of David Bowie’s personae, songs and thoughts, in that order, without concern for dramatic arc or, even, chronology. You could watch almost any fifteen minutes of the two-hour-plus film and see all there is to see. The songs are different, but none play out at length. Greater attention is given […]