![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Gone Girl stirs the pot, no doubt about that. Premiering amidst the NFL-stoked domestic violence uproar, this sordid thriller about a wife’s murder is akin to throwing gas on a fire. But never mind all that societal stuff, is it a good movie? Yes, a great one, albeit far from perfect. The es…
WikChip Image
Smile! Oops, maybe not.
|
||||||
![]() Brilliance has never been more exquisitely appreciated than in Amadeus, with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s genius obsessively observed by Antonio Salieri, his lesser rival. Profound jealousy makes for such sweet sorrow, especially as snottily delivered by F. Murray Abraham in a stupendously juicy r…
WikChip Video
Sexy Opera, Very Sexy Opera
|
||||||
![]() Nina Simone’s name and presence had occasionally penetrated my consciousness and always piqued my interest. Happily, this well done documentary finally brought her consequential music and politics alive. Dubbed the High Priestess of Soul, she was a unique and uniquely transfixing artist, fusin…
WikChip Video
Liz Garbus on her Nina Simone doc
|
||||||
![]() Penélope Cruz is always worth watching, even in a somewhat forgettable romcom. Fortunately, Woman on Top is primarily set in San Francisco, giving it a second draw for viewers like me. But that’s about it. Her supporting cast can’t hold a candle to her, nor does the female empowerment script…
WikChip Image
BFFs who bathe together...
|
||||||
![]() Lost in America’s reputation exceeds its reality. Modestly funny in 1985, its four memorable scenes live on in the mind’s eye, but fail to sustain this mere 91 minute movie. Turns out its nest-egg wasn’t enough. Not that it doesn’t have a great line here and there.
WikChip Video
"Oh I know, you mean the $100,000 box."
|
||||||
![]() A Separation fascinates both as an absorbing domestic drama and a lens into contemporary Iran. That compelling combination has made it a worldwide sensation, the odds-on favorite to win Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Oscars. It presents two families drawn together by domestic n…
WikChip Image
Bergman in Paris? No. Hatami in Teh...
|
||||||
![]() The Salesman validates my love of movies by bringing to the screen a slice-of-life at once prosaic and yet theatrical, and insanely thrilling. It’s also familiar to a Western audience, though set in Iran. Yeah, it’s an Iranian movie, making it utterly fascinating to Westerners like me who are i…
WikChip Video
Asghar Farhadi describes his film
|
||||||
![]() The Chinese vs. the Japanese in the 16th century makes for a great martial-arts war movie, full of Shaolin vs. samurai, kung fu vs. karate. This Chinese production tells the tale from the Chinese POV, with Japanese pirates raiding peaceful Han Chinese villages and engaging in war crimes as part o…
WikChip Video
Serious Business
|
||||||
![]() Incredibles 2 is tremendously entertaining for young and old alike, albeit not incredibly entertaining. Coming after a decade in which superhero movies have ruled the multiplexes, it so gets Supers, as those id-like people are called in the movie, just as it so gets real people: moms, dads, kid…
WikChip Video
Edna Mode, moviestar
|
||||||
![]() Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky franchise lives on, now centered on a new generation and an African-American hero. This all works and provides a dose of social relevance, making Creed II a solid entrant in the Rocky canon. It’s also a better than average boxing movie, largely because it follows the …
WikChip Image
Behind most good men is a father figure
|