Film/TV
669 results
Page 50
"Hyde Park on Hudson' (2nd review)
The road to war, and the only adult in the room
King George's visit to Franklin D. Roosevelt on the eve of World War II is a subject worth exploring, but Roger Michell's Hyde Park on Hudson bites off more history and a little more drama than it can chew.
Articles
8 minute read
Gus Van Sant's "Promised Land'
Frack, baby, frack
Promised Land pits bad natural gas interests against the true grit of Pennsylvania townsfolk, and guess who wins— in Hollywood, I mean, not real life.
Articles
6 minute read
Real life: Kenneth Lonergan's 'Margaret'
The unpredictable messiness of real life
Contrary to what you see in most movies and plays, “happy endings” last at best for a few days, and more likely a few hours. Kenneth Lonergan's haunting Margaret is that rare film that captures reality with gripping accuracy— if you can find it.
Articles
4 minute read
Sacha Gervasi's "Hitchcock'
The voyeur gets the keyhole treatment
Sacha Gervasi's Hitchcock depicts the making of Alfred Hitchcock's best-known (if not actually best) film, Psycho, and uses it as a vehicle to peer into the director's complex marriage. Gervasi's attempt to get behind Hitchcock's own carefully crafted persona is less successful, but co-stars Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren offer a master class in screen acting.
Articles
10 minute read
How good was Stanley Kubrick?
The ultimate 20th Century director: What made Stanley run?
Stanley Kubrick's films lacked a characteristic look; on the contrary, he seemed determined to explore every conceivable film genre. He may have been a genius, but precisely how?
Articles
10 minute read
Gun control lessons from "The Hobbit'
Can swords kill people? Oh my yes (and all by themselves, too)
When the characters in The Hobbit aren't waging battle against the masses of Mordor, they're delivering worshipful paeans to weaponry. But if you stick with this film to the bitter end, you'll discover that the rallying cry of the National Rifle Association wouldn't fly in Middle Earth.
Articles
4 minute read
Artistic freedom and Brazil's "Man of the Monkey'
The artist, the fascists and the jungle: A Brazilian mystery
On a Brazilian jungle island that housed a prison for political dissidents, inhabitants told tales of a shadowy "Man of the Monkey" who possessed multiple talents and exercised awesome powers. Was he real, or a figment of superstition? Under a government bent on driving its subjects crazy, who could say for sure?
Articles
4 minute read
"Hyde Park on Hudson' (1st review)
Hands across the cartoon sea
It's role reversal time, as Britain's king and queen visit President Franklin D. Roosevelt, crowns in hand, to beg for his military support. Only in a Hollywood film would FDR's paramour wind up stealing the show.
Articles
2 minute read
Grant Gee's 'Patience (After Sebald)'
The past slowly yields its secrets: W. G. Sebald and Germany's conscience
In the 11 years since his accidental death in 2001, the German writer W. G. Sebald has been acknowledged as one of the significant literary figures of the late 20th Century. Grant Gee's Patience (After Sebald) is a fine attempt to capture the textures of Sebald's elusive but compelling prose in cinematic terms.
Articles
7 minute read
"Killing Them Softly'
Crime doesn't pay (and it's not much fun, either)
In Killing Them Softly, terrible people do terrible things to each other for relatively small amounts of money. Films like this could give movie crime a bad name.
Articles
2 minute read