From his debut feature, PI, Darren Aronofsky’s work has never strayed far from the metaphysical. There was the overt Kabbalah that infused NOAH, and even REQUIEM FOR A DREAM was as much about the psychic destruction of souls as it was about any physical degradation of the protagonists. And so it is with MOTHER!, an… Read More »
BIUTIFUL
BIUTIFUL is a somber, lyrical, joyous, and troubling tone poem of a film. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has made a haunting consideration of the mysteries of the universe. The protagonist, Uxbal, is a dying man raging against the dying of his light. After a life spent living by his wits from day to day, a diagnosis… Read More »
SKYFALL
SKYFALL may not be the best Bond film ever, but there has certainly never been a better entry in the series. The trademark mordant wit, breakneck action, and visceral eroticism are all in evidence here, and operating at their finest level, but there is a subtle yet piquant, tweaking of the usual formula that makes… Read More »
COUNSELOR, THE
Once upon a time there was a delightful play that spawned an equally delightful movie, both called ROZENCRANTZ AND GUILDERSTERN ARE DEAD. In it, two minor characters from Hamlet are given center stage, with the arch comedy suitable to the comic relief from a towering tragedy, as well as unexpectedly profound observations about the meaning… Read More »
LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA
LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA sweeps across the big screen like a stifled yawn. Adapted from Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s poetic novel by Ronald Harwood and directed by Mike Newell, the grand passion that dominates the life of its hero, Florentino (Javier Bardem), fails to rise to the occasion. Rather than the stuff of great… Read More »
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, is a nail-biting masterpiece of suspense, operating on a philosophical level that is as sophisticated as it is compelling. It takes its tropes and its idioms from classic noirs, but with nary a cliché, and with a soul more hard-boiled than the film… Read More »
EAT PRAY LOVE
EAT PRAY LOVE is a glossy travelogue of a flick, full of stereotypes and caricatures providing a colorful backdrop to Julia Roberts’ glamour lighting. Based on the book of the same name by Elizabeth Gilbert, it is the personal journey towards inner happiness taken by Liz (Julie Roberts) as she learns the lessons of the… Read More »
THE DANCER UPSTAIRS
THE DANCER UPSTAIRS is a stunning exploration of passion and delusion, and not just the romantic kind, though the power of Eros is seen here as just as treacherous as the political backdrop of the story. Set in an unnamed South American country in a time specified only as the recent past, an honest man,… Read More »