Top Films by Year
Top Films of 2020
Top Films of 2017
Top Films of 2015
Bergman Island – 7
A dreamy travelogue through Ingmar Bergman’s island, Faro, and a screenwriter’s mind. Fortunately, she is played by Vicky Krieps (how the movie’s blurb could call her an “American” beats me) and in the movie-within-a-movie by Mia Wasikowska, both of whom lay out the uncertainties and difficulties of human relationships in full view. When you try […]
The Tragedy of Macbeth – 7.8
Powerful and sleek, this compressed Macbeth begins in intensity and never lets up. Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand are good, not great, as the title couple (and closed captioning was an aid in following the dialogue). The black-and-white cinematography, modernist architecture and insistent score create an atmosphere of constant foreboding. Kathryn Hunter’s “Sisters” helps, too. The […]
The Lost Leonardo – 7.5
The saga of “Salvador Mundi” by (perhaps) Leonardo da Vinci is the art story of the decade, and this documentary sufficiently marshaled the critical talking heads and visual evidence so that the viewer (i.e., me) felt he could make intelligent sense of what happened and, more importantly, what the painting is. Other than the slippery Yves Bouvier, […]
Julia – 6.5
Cook-a-little, talk-a-little, cook-a-little, talk-a-little, cheep-cheep-cheep, talk-a-lot, cook-a-little-more. For a non-foodie, there was a lot of same in this documentary recounting of Julia Child’s admittedly amazing career. There were occasional plot twists–Julia’s derision of nouvelle cuisine, her support of Planned Parenthood–but they disappeared as abruptly as they arose. The movie announced its theme at the outset […]
CODA – 7.5
Emilia Jones steals your heart in this year’s crowd-pleaser, not just with her winsome charm but her amazing singing, and signing. The plot is over-the-top obvious, with every plot point telegraphed from the moment it’s introduced, but it’s still a fun ride. Troy Kotsur is endearing as the father, but Marlee (“I’m a famous actor”) […]