Film/TV

671 results
Page 47
From medieval dream to Soviet nightmare.

Andrei Tarkovsky's "Nostalghia'

Exiles without borders, or: You can't go home again

On the surface, Andrei Tarkovsky's penultimate film is the brooding story of a Russian poet at loose ends in Italy. More essentially it portrays a modern world estranged from itself. Tarkovsky's style requires patience, but the rewards are considerable.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 6 minute read
Blanchett as Jasmine: A breakdown named Desire?

Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine' (1st review)

Woody Allen does Tennessee Williams

I was startled by how closely Woody Allen's Jasmine resembles Tennessee Williams's Blanche DuBois. I've never seen a Woody Allen character disintegrate before our very eyes with the blinding intensity of Cate Blanchett's Jasmine.

Carol Rocamora

Articles 5 minute read
Waiting for a proper husband, in the proper order.

Kon Ichikawa's 'The Makioka Sisters'

Among the cherry blossoms: Bourgeois denial in Imperial Japan

In Philadelphia's August doldrums, International House's film series is one of the few cultural events available. Its presentation of Kon Ichikawa's The Makioka Sisters, based on Junichiro Tanizaki's classic novel, brilliantly invoked the mood and mores of imperial Japan before Pearl Harbor.
Robert Zaller

Robert Zaller

Articles 7 minute read
'Europa Report's' crew: Young, muscular and clueless.

"Europa Report': The trouble with outer space films

How do you reason with a humanoid? (And other outer space movie challenges)

For space scientists, the ultimate question is: Does life exist in the vast reaches of the cosmos? But for the rest of us, an equally pressing question is: Will a truly intelligent and watchable film about space exploration ever be made?
AJ Sabatini

AJ Sabatini

Articles 6 minute read
Yaron: Unprepared for intimacy.

Rama Burshtein's "Fill the Void'

Marriage, in all its complexity

New writer-director Rama Burshtein's power lies in her ability to see into the soul of her main character— a young Orthodox Jewish girl awaiting marriage— without judging either the girl or her community.

Carol Rocamora

Articles 5 minute read
Author Card (above) no longer attacks gay causes, but he never apologized either.

"Ender's Game': To boycott or not?

The Ender's Game debate: Of homophobes and knee-jerk reactions

What's the appropriate response to a movie based on a novel written by a homophobe? That's the question swirling around calls to boycott the coming release of Ender's Game.
Gary L. Day

Gary L. Day

Articles 5 minute read
Michael B. Jordan as Oscar: Flip side ofthe Zimmerman trial.

Ryan Coogler's "Fruitvale Station'

If we love Tony Soprano, why not Oscar?

Ryan Coogler's Fruitvale Station, based on the true tragic story of a young black man gunned down by a rogue cop, pushes all the predictable emotional buttons. But its message is too easy to swallow.
Ilene Raymond Rush

Ilene Raymond Rush

Articles 3 minute read

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Tambor, Clayburgh: Welcome to my real world.

A detour along my road to romance

In search of mature love (but finding only immature lovers)

As a devotee of great romantic novels and movies, I spent decades searching for D.H. Lawrence's sensuous gardener from Lady Chatterley's Lover. After seeing Never Again, I switched to exterminators. Would you believe I'm still searching?

Maralyn Lois Polak

Articles 5 minute read
Vincent Price would feeel right at home here.

Laurel Hill's "Cinema in the Cemetery'

This cemetery really comes to life

Give Laurel Hill Cemetery credit for an astute marketing perception: Cemeteries, like horror films, offer a safe, contained and even exciting way to tap into our deepest fears and anxieties.
Kayleigh Butera

Kayleigh Butera

Articles 3 minute read
Sukowa as Arendt: Suppose she'd been a man?

A feminist "Hannah Arendt' (3rd review)

A thinking woman in an old boys' club

Hannah Arendt may have been wrong about Adolf Eichmann, but she was right about the banality of evil. And much of the verbal abuse she suffered came not from Holocaust survivors but from male academics who resented her intrusion into their domain. Hannah Arendt. A film directed by Margarethe Von Trotta. At the Ritz at the Bourse, 400 Ranstead St., (215) 440-1181 or www.landmarktheatres.com.
Victor L. Schermer

Victor L. Schermer

Articles 7 minute read