Daily Archives: March 25, 2024

Netflixable? Of course an Indian “Top Gun” includes a little song and dance — “Fighter”

Film critics are like baseball umpires. Right and wrong are relative, so “consistency” is what matters. If I panned the original “Top Gun,” kicked its sequel “Maverick” and torched the Chinese knockoff “Born to Fly,” it’s not as if I’m … Continue reading

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Documentary Review: Remembering “Max Patkin: The Clown Prince of Baseball”

Max Patkin had been “The Clown Prince of Baseball” for 40 years before “Bull Durham” came along and preserved his act for all time. Writer-director Ron Shelton, a former minor league infielder, remembers basically building his Kevin Costner/Susan Sarandon/Tim Robbins … Continue reading

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Movie Review: An Iranian Mom struggles to free herself and her daughter from an abusive marriage and oppressive patriarchy — “Shayda”

A wary unease hangs over “Shayda,” the debut feature film of Iranian-born filmmaker Noora Niasari. In simplest terms, it’s a domestic melodrama, a story of a custody fight against the Islamic patriarchy of fundamentalist Iran. But what the viewer absorbs … Continue reading

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