Top Films by Year
Top Films of 2020
Top Films of 2017
Top Films of 2015
Once Were Brothers – 4.5
Robbie Robertson may be a great musician, but as a documentary narrator he is ponderous. As in Ain’t Too Proud to Beg, the story of a five-man band suffers from being told solely from one member’s perspective. Performance clips breathe some life into the film, but with only one great song to The Band’s credit, […]
Emma – 6.5
After a rather slow first hour, we come to know the residents of Highbury and derive some pleasure in this familiarity – particularly with Mr. Knightley, a true gentleman. The settings and costumes are gorgeous, but the story – much like the superior Little Women – plays like the 19th-century novel it is. If there […]
Seberg – 6.5
There’s a lot of Kristen Stewart in this film, which is a pretty good thing, as well as a reminder that the U.S. Department of Justice has suffered from a political agenda in the past. The movie is based on a true story, which is its only reason – besides showcasing Stewart – for existing. […]
The Traitor – 8
Here was a world I knew well, from The Irishman, Narcos, Sopranos, The Godfather and many more. As in The Irishman, the central figure, Tommaso Buscetta, was a “soldier,” but as played by Pierfrancesco Favino he is the dominant figure you want to watch, everything De Niro wasn’t. This, too, was a true story, which […]
Oscar Riffs 2020
The Show: Steve Martin and Chris Rock’s opening monologue deserved an A and was matched later on by Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph. If they could host, it would make it a more cohesive show. Ditto for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. As it was, the segment intros were hit-or-mostly miss. Someone named Ramos I’d […]