SPARKLE, the remake of the film of the 1976 film of the same name, was set to be Whitney Houstons acting comeback. She was serious about it, too, having acquired the rights herself, as well as executive producing this incarnation, In it she succeeds in delivering a fine performance that is upstaged by the ferocious… Read More »
ANTWONE FISHER
Denzel Washington may just win himself another Oscar nomination this year, though this time out it will be for directing ANTWONE FISHER, one of the most moving films of this or any other year. Not that his performance is anything but sterling, but the nuanced performance he coaxes from Derek Luke, who plays Fisher is… Read More »
PIECES OF APRIL
Any film that declares Krispy Kreme donuts as proof of God’s existence is a film that has much to teach us no matter what our level of metaphysical enlightenment. In this perfect film, writer/director Peter Hedges astutely observes with sardonic wit and aching emotion the two great train wrecks of family life, the car… Read More »
CATCH A FIRE
CATCH A FIRE is a timely consideration of what drives human beings to extremes. Based on a true story of South Africa’s time under apartheid, it shows one man radicalized from passivity to activism to armed resistance with the same dizzy speed that his illusion of security is shattered. The time is 1980 and the… Read More »