After a string of years where the grand finale of the Academy Awards was largely uncertain up to the point when envelopes started being torn open, today’s nominations announcement confirmed we’re in a season of foregone conclusions. The thirteen nominations … Continue reading Out of the Pink — Thoughts on the Oscar Nominations
Andrew Haigh’s latest is an emotional haymaker that boasts a remarkable performance by Andrew Scott. Continue reading Now Playing — All of Us Strangers
Stamped from the Beginning (Roger Ross Williams, 2023). Somewhat adapted from and somewhat inspired by Ibram X Kendi’s book of the same name, this documentary by Roger Ross Williams pointedly traces the creation and enforcement of racial identity as a … Continue reading Then Playing — Stamped from the Beginning; Bell, Book and Candle; Rustin
J.A. Bayona’s first full-length outing as a director was a horror movie. I thought of that film factoid quite often when watching the Spanish-born director’s latest, the docudrama Society of the Snow. Yes, Bayona builds the narrative (working with three … Continue reading Now Playing — Society of the Snow
The Killer (David Fincher, 2023). Following the prestige passion project Mank, David Fincher returns to the sort of glossy pulp that seems to most stir his cinematic heart. The Killer focuses on a hitman (Michael Fassbender) whose previously perfect professional … Continue reading Then Playing — The Killer; Maestro; Poor Things
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (Sam Fell, 2023). The first Chicken Run, which was also the first feature-length outing for Aardman Animation, was released almost a quarter-century ago. Of course, clay doesn’t really age, so, sure, why not circle … Continue reading Then Playing — Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget; American Symphony; I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes
The Main Event (Howard Zieff, 1979). Barbra Streisand stars as Hillary Kramer, the owner of a major perfume corporation who goes bust after her accountant embezzles all of her money and absconds to South America. One of the only assets … Continue reading Then Playing — The Main Event; A Thousand and One; Black Angel
In the summer of 1996, Andre Braugher took advantage of the hiatus between seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street to star in a New York production of Henry V. The occasion prompted The New Yorker to include a blurb … Continue reading Andre Braugher, 1962 – 2023
Ladies of the Chorus (Phil Karlson, 1949). This backstage drama about burlesque performers is pedestrian in its most basic particulars, but it has just enough flinty spirit to keep it interesting. Peggy Martin (Marilyn Monroe) is a performer who rises … Continue reading Then Playing — Ladies of the Chorus; Paris, Texas; Reality
It’s long been clear that filmmaker Todd Haynes is a master of manipulating tone for delightfully acts of cinematic chicanery. To this point, this most potent manifestation of that talent was surely Far from Heaven, his 2002 film that gently … Continue reading Now Playing — May December
