Monthly Archives: January 2021

“The White Tiger” is a soap operatic saga about one young man’s rise to the “light” — the wealthy caste — of India. It’s a “What Makes Sammy Run?” for the subcontinent, a self-narrated tale of a hustler and how … Continue reading →

“Cerebral horror” is a label — perhaps unfair, perhaps a backhanded compliment — we use for that rare tale of terror that doesn’t just get in your head. It makes you think. “Saint Maud” is the latest brooding bit of … Continue reading →

For my money, the cleverest movie plot of 2020 belongs to Tunisia’s submission for inclusion in The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ “best international feature” contest at the upcoming Oscars. “The Man Who Sold His Skin” is political … Continue reading →

She wasn’t always a cleaning lady. And from the liberties she takes with one client’s lipstick, makeup and clothes — trying them on — you’ve got to wonder if this is a job she’ll hang on to for long. Still, … Continue reading →

My stars and garters, what manner of Z-movie mayhem is this? A little nacho cheese from the makeup maestro turned director of “Leprechaun Returns,” complete with all the digestive tract burps and toots that label entails, “Psycho Goreman” looks and … Continue reading →

Not every film that’s all about a menage a trois aims to be the next “Jules et Jim.” Some have a hint of “Summer Lovers” or “Y Tu Mama Tambien” about them, and so go for playful “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” … Continue reading →

As paranoid thrillers go, “Sightless” isn’t half bad before it — pardon me — loses its way. And even after that, it manages a moment or two even as it frustrates you with its many blown possibilities. The story of … Continue reading →

Three movies set in “the troubles” along the Border have come out in same week. “The Marksman” is a generic Liam Neeson action picture without the nerve to be either a racist redemption tale or a meaningful look at a … Continue reading →

Samuel L. Jackson has been King of the on-Screen F-word forever. But who could have guessed that when a queen was crowned, she’d be from the Subcontinent, and not Dorchester, Park Slope or Culver City? The Indian actress Kajol (Kajol … Continue reading →

As he fusses over close-ups, how the camera frames him, and muses about how he’ll be remembered, Hector Babenco scripts, blocks and produces his “final film.” But he doesn’t direct it. On the documentary, “Babenco: Tell Me When I Die,” … Continue reading →