Monthly Archives: October 2013

An Oscar nomination for Naomi Watts as Princess Diana? We’ll see soon enough. This one focuses on the last couple of years of her life, her great love and that fellow she died in that car crash with.

He popped up in “Son of Rambow,” and had the title role in “Hugo.” Now the young Brit Asa Butterfield has the lead in a possible sci-fi franchise — “Ender’s Game.” He plays Orson Scott Card’s teen trained for combat … Continue reading →

Two mothers, grieving over their dead teenage sons, bond and then begin to wonder if the other’s son wasn’t responsible for their child’s death in “Torn,” a modest, emotionally lacking melodrama built around big themes and hot button issues.Mahnoor Baloch … Continue reading →

James Toback knows the Hollywood dance. He’s a 40 year veteran of the business, a writer (“Bugsy,” “The Gambler”) and writer-director (“Fingers,””The Pick-Up Artist”) of some repute. As he approaches his sixty-ninth birthday, he knows the struggle it takes to … Continue reading →

Costa-Gavras, that legendary lefty of the international cinema, is on message and but somewhat off his game with the French drama “Capital,” a mildly entertaining sermon about American “Cowboy Capitalism” as it rubs up against “The French Way.”It’s a modestly … Continue reading →

Say this for “Blue is the Warmest Color”, the Cannes award winner that is as famous for its long, explicit sex scenes as it is for its honors and actresses. It earns the NC-17 rating the MPAA imposed on it. … Continue reading →

Say this for “Last Vegas.” CBS Films didn’t scrimp on cast, baby. FIVE Oscar winners star in this comedy about old men, lifelong pals “from the neighborhood,” gathering in Vegas to celebrate the marriage of one of their ranks. Michael … Continue reading →

Erotic, but about more than the sex, droll, but about more than witty lines and cutting observations by and about bored suburban moms, “Concussion” is a most promising first feature from writer-director Stacie Passon. It’s well-acted, sometimes poignant and occasionally … Continue reading →