Many Beautiful Things lives up to its title. With lush visuals from the English countryside, the deserts of North Africa, and the watercolors of its subject Lilias Trotter, the latest from filmmaker Laura Waters Hinson pleases the eye while asking questions of the heart. If Trotter’s name sounds . . . . Continue Reading »
Patrick Cassidy, the composer for the 2014 film Calvary, jokes about the film’s grimness: “It’s not exactly a date movie.” He’s right: The film follows a lonely Irish priest as he shepherds a cold and bitter village. Its harsh realism is profoundly humbling. Heavy as the film is, it is lifted by Cassidy’s classical score. Continue Reading »
A cold has severely damaged my already limited thinking abilities. I just rewatched “The Way of the Gun”. I saw it about a dozen years ago and remembered it as an enjoyable and darkly funny action movie with an exceptional performance by James Caan. Seeing it again, the movie, for . . . . Continue Reading »
So I saw Man of Steel again and here are some thoughts, 1. Peter Lawler’s subversive interpretation of the Republic-in-speech is also the film’s subversive interpretation of the Republic-in-speech. 2. Zod’s tragedy is that he has completely collapsed the categories of good man and . . . . Continue Reading »
Don’t believe the professional movie critics. Just as Superman Returns has seen its reputation (deservedly) decline since it came out, Man of Steel is likely to see its critical reputation improve in the years ahead. The most puzzling critique of Man of Steel is that it lacks the . . . . Continue Reading »
Noah Baumbach loves Greta Gerwig and its not funny. Frances Ha is amusing, but the “ha” is always on its own, without an accompanying “ha” (repeat) that makes for real laughter. The movie is and is not about Greta Gerwig. Greta Gerwig has had a very . . . . Continue Reading »
For years when people have asked me which woman I honor, I am likely to say Margaret Thatcher. You can imagine the varied responses I get, depending of the politics of the person who asks the question. There are not many people one does not know whose deaths inspire grief; for . . . . Continue Reading »
So I saw the science fiction movie Looper a couple of weeks ago. A lot of stuff is going on. Some of it is time travel stuff and it gets kind of complicated, but I want to focus a bit on the family dynamics. The two main male characters become mass murderers in response to losing their mothers. One . . . . Continue Reading »
Earlier this month I fell ill with the horrible flu that is going around and lying abed in misery decided not to pay too much attention to the news for sanity’s sake. Of course, the space between not too much and no attention leaves plenty of room for discouragement and distress. . . . . Continue Reading »
This and the next will be the last songbook posts on pop-music movies for a while. Despite my doing five(!) posts on ALMOST FAMOUS , two on the SCHOOL OF ROCK, and an epic one on THE DOORS, I do think that among my list of pop-music films , THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO is the standout in terms of sheer . . . . Continue Reading »
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