Monthly Archives: July 2021

In the late 1950s, the golden age of the TV Western, Sam Peckinpah was a TV writer and sometime director whose scriptsstood out thanks to their hard, unconventional and unsentimental edge. In 1960-61, the future director of “Ride the High … Continue reading →

“John and the Hole,” the painterly, understated and under-plotted directing debut of visual artist turned filmmaker Pascual Sisto, leaves the diagnosis of its title character up to the viewer. And right from the start, he’s a puzzle. John (Charlie Shotwell) … Continue reading →

In the days before streaming — before home video even — film-lovers flocked to New York to get their art, indie and international cinema fix. We made our pilgrimage to the Beekman, the Paris, the Waverly, Sutton, Lincoln Plaza, Cinema … Continue reading →

A New York kid mourns his lost dad and comes of age under Grandpa’s tutelage, and in reaction to Grandpa’s frontier ways. And there’s a cute dingo.

Funnyman Jake Johnson is the son “tested” by his now-dead mother in the bittersweet “better to grow up late than never” comedy “Ride the Eagle.” It’s a not-quite-aimless film peopled with “types” and built on movie tropes — the sorts … Continue reading →

Good cast, gritty milieu for this Sept. 3 release.

A November “awards season” release, this has some currency and a lot of heft to it. Smith looks good.

We few. We lucky, lucky few. We who nothing of the magical qualities of the doula, we for whom the acronym “RIE” is akin to speaking in tongues. We have no idea how lucky we are. Here’s a comedy about … Continue reading →

A Nordic folktale of the darkly comic or horrific persuasion, this Oct. 8 release stars Noomi Rapace. Yeah, it’s from A24 and is as weird and wooly as you would expect from them.

“Bankrolled?” Think of it as a classic example of “meeting a comedy on its own terms.” It takes a while to settle in. And truthfully, you’ve got to be simpatico with its vibe, something that ties “Bankrolled” to the stoner … Continue reading →