Monthly Archives: January 2020

Harlem girl, college-bound, entirely too smart for the neighborhood guys who are all “speak ‘game,’ play game, one big game” with their come-ons. But then Ayanna, the aspiring writer and would-be poet, stumbles into Isaiah, the earnest, smart would-be music … Continue reading →

Long before she did “Bird Box,” “The Night Manager” or “Serena,” Susanne Bier was a Danish director to watch. “After the Wedding” and “In a Better World” marked her as someone with a distinct perspective and a long career ahead … Continue reading →

The trailers for this shout “JANUARY thriller,” and that’s a good thing. It’s a great month to release a picture with no Oscar pretenses, an action film. Mark Wahlberg knocked out a couple, before he was sentenced to Netflix. Everybody … Continue reading →

One of the delights of the third act of Sir Ian McKellen’s life and illustrious career has been throwing dinner parties, sometimes in swank restaurants here or there — often in the ancient and storied pub he owns, The Grapes. … Continue reading →

Rosie Perez and Eric Roberts are the familiar names in this bipolar college kid drowning his troubles at a strip club tale. We are intrigued.

Fine art and the art of stealing it are touched on in this one.

The French comedy “L’ascension (The Climb)” is so cheerful and cutesie that pounding it would be like kicking a puppy. Everybody grins. True love is given its ultimate test. And even if one questions the “sight gag” motives of the … Continue reading →

The intense but clean-cut young man slows his Beetle down at an Israeli Army checkpoint on a rainy night. He’s going to “the funeral” he says. When the soldier takes a breath to ask more questions, perhaps search the car, … Continue reading →

In an interview with Variety, Carey Mulligan suggests Oscar Voters Need to Prove They’ve Seen the Movies. She has a point. I think most of the winners reflect a movie the Academy by and large has seen. It’s the films … Continue reading →

In one scene in the Colombian farce “Loving is Losing (El que se Enamora Pierde)” a misbehavior-prone masseuse (Carolina Sarmiento), prone to drugging her clients so she can goof off instead of actually giving massages, is seen watching a telenovela– … Continue reading →