I SAW THE LIGHT was originally set for an autumn 2015 release with an eye towards positioning Tom Hiddleston’s performance as Hank Williams for Oscar™ consideration. I can see why they thought there would be awards buzz. I can also see why they pulled it from its original release date. Hiddleston is brilliant as the… Read More »
SWEET BEAN (AN)
SWEET BEAN is a deeply affecting tale of finding happiness by finding meaning. After watching this charmer, you might be tempted to try your own hand in creating a dorayaki, the pancake stuffed with sweet bean filling around which the story of three lonely people revolves. In fact, I defy you to resist. Cherry blossoms… Read More »
TWENTY TWENTY-FOUR
You could, if so inclined, sit back and enjoy Richard Mundy’s counterintuitively dynamic film, TWENTY TWENTY- FOUR, merely as an engrossing study of a loner going slowly mad in isolation. As the difference between reality and madness builds to a fever pitch, the mystery of what exactly is happening in Roy’s underground bunker matches the… Read More »
SIX ROUNDS
SIX ROUNDS is an exquisitely realized inner monologue. A perfect distillation of character and mood expressed in silence and in shouts; of emotion visualized through quick cuts and slow motion into a tone poem of stark eloquence with nary a flaw in its running time. Told is six episodes, it explores the aftermath of the… Read More »
THE COMEDIAN
THE COMEDIAN makes me want to forgive Robert De Niro for BAD GRANDPA. Almost.
MIDSUMMER IN NEWTOWN
The word “safe” comes up over and over again in MIDSUMMER IN NEWTOWN, Lloyd Kramer’s elegiac yet emotionally gripping documentary about the aftereffects of the Sandy Hook Massacre on the survivors. As in, the sense of being safe has been taken from everyone involved forever. The question becomes how to deal with it. Kramer’s film… Read More »
PATRIOT’S DAY
PATRIOT’S DAY is two films, one perfectly competent, the other one a skillful blend of character study and taut suspense. Perhaps this is why the studio’s rep in San Francisco scheduled and cancelled not one, but two, For Your Consideration screenings for critics groups last month). Based on the events leading up to, during, and… Read More »
NERUDA
NERUDA is a rhapsody of juxtaposition and conundrum. Pablo Larraín’s film takes historical episodes from a contentious time in the life of Chile’s beloved poet, fervent Communist, elected senator, and creates a fable of suitably Olympian proportions. And, yes, poetry. This is not, however, the sun-dappled poetry of pastoral idylls nor of chivalric love. And… Read More »
THE FOUNDER
Who knew that milkshakes would loom so large in the story of how McDonald’s became the corporate behemoth that it is today? From the multi-spindle mixers hawked by Ray Kroc during his salad days, to the seductive lipstick imprint on the rim of a glass containing an ersatz version of the creamy treat, to a… Read More »
THE RED TURTLE
We are reminded in THE RED TURTLE how superfluous words can be. This animated fable from Studio Ghibli, aimed more at adults than at children, is a thoughtful film about the cycle of life, and a sublime cinematic achievement. A masterpiece, in fact. Starting with a shipwreck, it tells the story of a castaway marooned… Read More »
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