Monthly Archives: December 2023

A Taiwanese/American gangland thriller/action shoot’em up, this one looks jokey and bloody and kind of fun. Jan. 4. Netflix

A refugee smuggling tragedy tears at the fabric of a Greek family in “Behind the Haystacks,” a touching and deeply involving drama that is the Greek submission for consideration as Best International Feature for the next Academy Awards. The Middle … Continue reading →

Ryan O’Neal was ridiculed for being a wooden pretty boy in his early films. But he was very funny opposite Streisand in “What’s Up Doc?” and lowdown amusing in “Paper Moon.” His best role might have been an iconic, largely … Continue reading →

Disney has apparently “right sized” its approach to the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” rights and franchise that it acquired when the studio bought out 20th Century Fox. The early live action films were the best, but how many of … Continue reading →

Maybe the definition of madness is “doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.” That doesn’t really explain Netflix’s mania for big budget/”name” cast disaster movies. “Don’t Look Up” was merely the most-hyped. “Bird Box” had … Continue reading →

“Eileen” is a chilly, immersive character study about a young woman drowning in the drudgery and burdens of the trap her life has become. Eileen, played by the wonderful Thomasin McKenzie, has a soul-crushing job at a young men’s prison. … Continue reading →

“The Smell of Money” is a social justice documentary about environmental racism and its role in bringing home the bacon, ham and sausage in the American food chain. Set in the towns and rural counties of Eastern N.C. where Big … Continue reading →

In secular cinematic terms, “The Oath” is a limp, underfinanced Pre-Columbian “Last of the Mohicans,” an “action adventure” about the lone survivor of a tribe hunted down by his hated rivals, but not before he’s fallen in love with an … Continue reading →

Prolific provocateur and cinema revolutionary Jean-Luc Godard cut a long, narrow swath through film history in his 91 years. He changed cinema into something messier and more realistic in launching the French New Wave in the 1950s. Movies were never … Continue reading →

“Photophobia,” Slovakia’s entry for Best International Feature in the upcoming 96th Academy Awards, is a reminder that Ukraine still merits the world’s compassion, aid and attention. It’s a docudrama with non-actors “playing” the role Putin’s Russian invasion has limited them … Continue reading →