JULES is a wise and gentle comedy-drama about the vicissitudes of aging and the balm of a really good listener. There’s also a UFO and its extra-terrestrial pilot thrown in for good measure. Gifted with three well-tempered performances by Ben Kingsley, Jane Curtin, and Harriet Sansom Harris, it takes a clear-eyed approach to the… Read More »
AMERICAN PASTORAL — Ewan McGregor Interview
Ewan McGregor had just spent the previous 24 hours flying in from London and then hosting a Q&A for his film, AMERICAN PASTORAL, at the Mill Valley Film Festival, but adrenalin got the better of fatigue when I spoke with him on October 10, 2016. The film charts the life of a Jewish-American golden boy… Read More »
THE BRONZE
If the lead character in THE BRONZE were a guy, played by Seth Rogan or Jonah Hill, the raunchiness, bad attitude, and permanent scowl would be considered edgy, honest, and even hip. But Hope Annabelle Greggory isn’t the male of the species, and what is acceptable as fun and iconoclastic for those with two X-chromosomes… Read More »
Amy Schumer is No TRAINWRECK
Turning gender roles neatly on their heads, Amy Schumer has created a screwball comedy of considerable substance. Taking sure aim at the abomination of the formula rom-com, she satirizes not just the genre, but the state of contemporary single-hood. Starring in a script of her own devising, she is fearless, relentless, and completely unapologetic as the titular hot mess, also named Amy, with commitment issues and a healthy libido.
THE CROODS
On one level, THE CROODS is a funny, heartwarming, and imaginative look at life in the original dark ages, those of prehistoric humankind crouching in their caves surviving, barely, in a state of perpetual fear of the dark. And it would be perfectly fine to enjoy this animated film from Dreamworks in just that way.… Read More »