Top Films by Year
Top Films of 2020
Top Films of 2017
Top Films of 2015
RBG – 7.5
For the first half, I thought, what a true American hero Ruth Ginsberg is, and what a wonderful support was her husband. I wanted to pair her documentary up with Itzhak Perlman’s for a heartwarming celebration of goodness and excellence. Once Martin Ginsburg died, and once Ruth ascended the high court, however, things sort of […]
Tully – 6
For two-thirds this was an unusually realistic take on motherhood, albeit focused on the negative, made enjoyable by the intelligent dialogue and the fine acting of Charlize Theron. Then the plot jumped off the tracks, and Theron’s character started acting in ways that made no sense. At the end, was it revealed that the nanny […]
Let the Sunshine In – 6.5
Ignore the meaningless title: there wasn’t much sunshine here, just a series of flawed relationships for the wondrous Juliette Binoche in an essay on the subject of, when lovers talk, are they actually saying anything? There are no resolutions – indeed, Gerard Depardieu is still discussing the subject, unreliably, as the credits end – but […]
NY Theater, May ’18
Our ambitious program of eight shows in five weeks got off to a disappointing start: both Harry Clarke and Three Tall Women were well reviewed but left us cold. Billy Crudup and Glenda Jackson, the respective stars, gave flawless performances, but neither was a character we wanted to spend time with. They were both self-centered […]
Disobedience – 7
The most interesting character in this movie was the Orthodox Jewish community in London to which all the actor-characters were related. Was it meant to look narrow, constricting and petty – or was that my prejudice? Eetsy’s escape was the dramatic high point, but then what to think of her simultaneous escape from the other […]