As any moviegoer knows, charismatic heroes of the screen often personify what we wish we could be or what we aspire to do. Legendary but believable heroes of film include Atticus Finch, Clarice Starling or Rick Blaine, for example. But when it comes to the films of the last few decades, contemporary leading characters generally [...]
Given the recent surge of 1980s popular culture nostalgia, discussions of that decade’s iconic films unfailingly revert to the unique 1980s teen comedy genre, always dominated by the catalog of John Hughes. But sadly, some outstanding films from that era are overlooked or even forgotten, and all teen movies from this period seem to be [...]
Who are the great American film directors? More to the point, who do we think are the great American film directors? Well, there’s Ford, of course, the Zeus of the American pantheon, by turns comic, epic, maudlin and humane. Then there’s Welles, the ill-fated genius, abused by producers but beloved of critics. Spielberg, even in [...]
Ben Stiller’s 2001 male modeling comedy “Zoolander” was released just a few weeks after 9/11. It didn’t do well. The consensus was that a contemplative America wasn’t interested in such aggressive silliness. At its core, “The Descendants” seems equally at odds with the current national sentiment, yet it’s been widely celebrated. Much of the praise [...]
I’m getting a little tired of seeing Jean Dujardin’s face. That I can say this about an actor I like so much reflects the degree of media saturation surrounding The Artist. For most of January, the same shot of Dujardin stared out at me every time I opened the arts section of a newspaper or [...]
I feel sorry for M. Night Shyamalan. After “The Last Airbender” debacle and the graceless marketing scheme for “The Happening” as his first rated-R film, M. Night needs an overhaul, and maybe some kind-hearted praise for what he’s done right in his films. There is a divisiveness evident in nearly all of his films—you either [...]
After five years to the day, George Miller continues his epic penguin odyssey in “Happy Feet Two,” and more than any recent film I have to say I’m befuddled and confused by the terrible reception it has received (although I have my theories on that, which I’ll shortly address) because while it does have its [...]
“The Future” took my breath away. And when I say it took my breath away, I don’t mean to say I was enraptured by its profound insight into the “frailty of the human condition,” a much loathed and overused phrase. Instead of being uplifted, I was left with a lump in my throat. This is [...]
About twenty minutes into Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” there is a sequence that chronicles the creation of the universe. There is darkness, then supernovas of stellar light, volcanic eruptions, fire, and colossal swells of waves and gushing water. Once the earth as we have come to know and recognize it has taken shape, [...]
Seemingly always en vogue, gangsters have been especially so in recent years. The grand seigneur of American cinema, Martin Scorsese, finally won his long-deserved first Academy Award for Best Achievement in Directing for “The Departed” in 2007. Michael Mann’s 2009 effort “Public Enemies” was a big-budget production with high-dollar stars. The HBO drama “The Sopranos” [...]
Why did we watch ‘Amour?’
Short and Swede
No: Too Good at Recreating the 80s
Lawrence of Arabia: Deserving of its Place in the Sun
Top 10 of 2012
Sound of My Voice (2012)
The Master (2012)
‘Village at the End of the World’: Help Wanted?
‘Eat Sleep Die’: Asking for a little more
From Senegal to Saudi Arabia: Girls working for change
