'Black Swan' and Natalie Portman master the art of dark seduction (Video)
Every bit of critical rhetoric except the kitchen sink has been thrown at Black Swan. Regardless of a polarized critical consensus, the film delivers a hypnotic requiem through the funhouse...
View ArticleStory is king in Clint Eastwood's character-driven 'Hereafter' (Video)
If you watch "Hereafter" without knowing it is directed by Clint Eastwood or executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the momentousness of this two hour and ten minute epic piece of cinema may astonish...
View ArticleIt's all about Bette Davis in Academy Award-winning 'All About Eve'
Have you ever caught your reflection in a mirror that faces another slightly angled mirror and your reflection ricochets against itself in and endless hall-of-mirrors succession of identical images?...
View ArticleMovie Review: Spike Jonze's short film, 'I'm Here,' is a must-see modern...
A Love Story in an Absolut WorldWhen you hear the name Spike Jonze, you may mistake it for Spike Lee (as this author had) since the latter is the more familiar household name. But a few Google dips...
View ArticleLurid psychological thriller makes room for healing through compassion and love
Perhaps viewing intestines getting reeled out of a live human’s belly via a medieval crank-and-shaft torture device falls too far on the gruesome side of the spectrum to wish to stick around for a...
View ArticleRedgrave, Stamp, face death through music in rich, tender film, Unfinished Song
If you can squeegee the tears from the windshield of your eyes periodically, to be sure you don't miss one exceedingly poignant sequence after another, consider it a success! Present author missed...
View ArticleMove over "Rain Man,""Snow Cake" is every bit as Oscar-worthy
Autism is almost a trendy word bandied about these days. So many references to kids being autistic or "on the spectrum" or with Aspergers ... but little comprehension of the nuances and reality of the...
View ArticleFreeman: Ring up potential at different aisle than one for 10 Items or Less
OK, so let's start with the name alone. That scratch-fingernails-down-a-chalkboard-if-you're-an-English-teacher-like-I-am phrase we've all seen at the supermarket: 10 items or less...
View ArticleWes Anderson delivers too much of a good (madcap) thing in Grand Budapest Hotel
Admittedly, of Wes Anderson's impressive oeuvre, I have only seen The Royal Tenenbaums (and I do believe my now 11-year-old stepdaughter was enamored of The Fantastic Mr. Fox) so my internal...
View ArticleWilliams' character in The Fisher King not dissimilar to The Comedy King himself
N.B.: Modified review -- focusing on Williams' character and the stark relief into which it symbolically throws the actor's end-of-life. Far be it from me to tease out a favorite Robin Williams film...
View ArticleDead animals grotesquely made into sport to stay ahead of reality show curve
Just when you thought reality TV had covered every obscure, arcane, unpredictable, twisted, or ridiculous base, along came Immortalized. This utterly novel (I'll give it that) reality show competition...
View ArticleIdentity Thief robs you of 111 minutes of pleasurable cinema
Certainly when one sits down to write or adapt a screenplay, the writer does not intend to insult the intelligence of one's audience. If lucky enough to wrangle a high profile cast to star in the...
View ArticleMae West and W.C. Fields at top of their legendary, comic-genius game
In 1927, when Mae West was arrested for the first Broadway show she wrote and starred in, called "Sex,” and in 1937, when she appeared on an NBC comedy sketch and the FCC inveighed her performance as...
View ArticleBurning Love, a pitch-perfect parody, hits the funny bone of sexy satire
As a steadfastly adoring "Joan Ranger," who will stand by Joan Rivers no matter how brutally critics try to eviscerate this divinely dirty-mouthed diva, I have a high standard for low blows.I was...
View ArticleExploitation of misunderstood, then demonized, "other" nothing new
District 9 is one-sided from scene one. An alien craft descends to hover above Earth’s southern hemisphere and the South African government invades the ship to discover a multitude of “malnourished...
View ArticleFonda and Tomlin make magic on little screen in big way in Grace and Frankie
Perhaps the only thing that could make Grace and Frankie even more enjoyable would be the presence of Dolly Parton in a lead role to complete the reunion of legendary onscreen divas. Everyone and...
View ArticleCreed not afraid to replace Rocky's famous pecs with visceral storyline
When I heard there was a new Rocky sequel out, I did not pass go and went straight to the theater. I was and always will be a diehard Rocky franchise fan, having see each film multiple times and --...
View ArticleLike Stars on Earth as poignant as Catcher in the Rye and Dead Poets Society
It's rare to come across a film so deftly executed that you believe every single human being should not pass go but go directly to jail. Oops- I mean, should not waste another moment without having...
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