Monthly Archives: June 2023

You think you’ve got a handle on “The Golden Age of Screwball Comedy,” after finishing your survey of the films of Lubitsch and Sturges, Capra and Wilder and the occasional fun outing by Hanks, Fleming, La Cava and Cukor. And … Continue reading →

It was raining and she was on her motorcycle. So she stopped and ducked into a Parisian boite for a drink to wait it out. “L’etoile d’Or,” it was called. She noticed the birthday party, the candles-covered cake at the … Continue reading →

Well, perhaps the production team behind Brazil’s Around the World with Netflix offering “Rich in Love” took criticism of their “series of limp mistaken identity mixups” rom-com to heart. They got to make a sequel with the same beautiful, rich-but-earnestly-trying-to-contribute … Continue reading →

A seasoned cast — with a couple of horror fan faves in its ranks — and a few of cool supernatural effects decorate “Brooklyn 45,” a stodgy, stagey horror tale from the director of “We Are Still Here” and “Mohawk.” … Continue reading →

In his most manic comedies, the great “reactor,” the unflappable Alan Arkin, looks like he’s on the verge of cracking up and blowing the take — scene after scene. He can’t wholly hide how tickled he is at what’s going … Continue reading →

When you watch “Mixed by Erry” — it’s adorable, so you should — don’t opt for the English dubbed option on Netflix. Take it in via its native tongue — Neopolitan Italian. Few movies make it clearer that Italian is … Continue reading →

There’s a moody, intimate and festival-darling short film tucked into the 105 minutes of “Esme, My Love.” But as a feature, this mild-mannered but atmospheric tale of slow-slower-slowest “rising” terror just doesn’t have enough going on to rope the viewer … Continue reading →

There’s a hint of mumblecore about this sci-fi dramedy, a COVID-inspired two-hander built around the great Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass. Edgy, uncertain, cautionary and hopeful and opening July 7, or so IFC tells us.

Guilty pleasure picture or a bucket list movie for Robert Mitchum completists, Don Siegel’s “The Big Steal” is a must-see for film buffs who like their tough guys tough, their dames mouthy and their action lean and mean — simple … Continue reading →

One of the illusions fed by the old, Darwinian model of cinema distribution was the notion that every “foreign” film must be good, if it made it all the way to North America. A film that stirred up attention and … Continue reading →