Monthly Archives: July 2017

Style points to the makers of “The Sabbatical” for puncturing, once and for all, the stereotype of “nice” Canadians for all of us below the 49th parallel. The film’s perpetually dyspeptic “hero” is cranky enough to put that “They’re just … Continue reading →

It’s not a fatal failing in “The Big Sick” that its star, co-writer and inspiration, Pakistani-American comic Kumail Nanjiani, isn’t the funniest thing in it. He almost is, right up until Holly Hunter and Ray Romano arrive, delivering the seemingly effortless … Continue reading →

Lean and relentless, patient and pitiless, “Killing Ground” is the sort of thriller that gives horror movies a good name. It’s a reminder that the scariest things we see on the screen aren’t necessarily supernatural — they’re dangers we face … Continue reading →

I’ve read enough performing arts memoirs to build a two story house, with a wall of books to fence in the dogs in the back yard. But I can’t recall one that was as laugh-out-loud hilarious as Jimmy Webb’s. Then … Continue reading →

In the “civilized” West, we carp at politicians, take to social media and — if we have the time — pick up a placard and politely march in protest if our government isn’t heeding “the will of the people.” And … Continue reading →

There’s a genre of indie films that once was only recognized by film festival directors and hardcore film festival-goers. A “film festival movie” is just interesting enough — by virtue of cast, location, themes or the occasional “one big scene” … Continue reading →

Journalists love the device we call “the telling anecdote.” It’s a simple quote, gathered for a story, that reveals much about the subject of that story in just a few sentences. For instance, many of us who write about film … Continue reading →

It’s not meant to be the definitive biography of Steve Spielberg. And veteran critic Molly Haskell pays plenty of homage to Joseph McBride’s date-by-date, deep background and thorough recent (conventional) biography of the filmmaker. What Haskell has taken on, courtesy … Continue reading →

I saw “War for the Planet of the Apes” some weeks ago, when it was screened for most critics. And I’ve been mulling it, and my not-quite-repellent response to it ever since. Because whatever one feels about the new touchstone … Continue reading →

Ever since the first cathode ray tubes flickered to life in America’s living rooms, the byword in Hollywood has been “Make Movies Better” than TV. Make them bigger, from Cinemascope to Cinerama to 70mm to IMAX 3D. Give them better … Continue reading →