Maggie Gyllenhaal didn’t opt for an easy task with her feature directorial debut. There’s presumably a straightforward way to to adapt Elena Ferrante’s 2008 novel, The Lost Daughter, to the screen, laying out the embers of emotion and the character … Continue reading Now Playing — The Lost Daughter
I appreciate that Lana Wachowski, usually in collaboration with sibling Lilly Wachowski, tried to do other things. They didn’t always work, not entirely, but there was at least an attempt to tell different stories in eager exploitation of the lingering … Continue reading Now Playing — The Matrix Resurrections
Aaron Sorkin channels a lot of his interests into Being the Ricardos. The writer-director hits upon political bullying, television production, creatives bucking against killjoy executive, and snappish relationships predicated on a version of romance that has no apparent love in … Continue reading Now Playing — Being the Ricardos
When I delved in devotedly to superhero sagas, many Marvel Comics Calendars ago, it was generally understood that the publisher of Spider-Man’s super stories was able to maintain a more coherent continuity because they hadn’t tinkered around in alternate universes … Continue reading Now Playing — Spider-Man: No Way Home
I was skeptical about Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. That was probably unwise. Although he has his fair share of missteps in his filmography, Spielberg has an almost unparalleled mastery of the traditional film narrative structure, and the famed musical … Continue reading Now Playing — West Side Story
It’s been more than ten years since Jane Campion directed a feature film. That gap is, of course, not a sign of her creative lassitude but instead an indictment of a broken film culture that has dwindling space for adult-minded … Continue reading Now Playing — The Power of the Dog
An illuminating comparison can be made between new film The Humans and recent drama The Father. Like the Oscar-winning film from director Florian Zeller, The Humans is based on a celebrated stage work, and its screen adaptation is written and … Continue reading Now Playing — The Humans
My first instinct is that the framing of the new film King Richard is off in a way that’s all too common. In telling the tale of two incredible female athletes — one of whom can make a legitimate claim … Continue reading Now Playing — King Richard
I have little doubt that Lin-Manuel Miranda relates mightily to the agonizing tale of creation related in Tick, Tick… Boom! Sure, Miranda is now an entertainment world titan with a trio of Tonys, a Pulitzer Prize, and wider name recognition … Continue reading Now Playing — Tick, Tick… Boom!
For a variety of reasons, it was probably inevitable that Eternals would be the most ambitious film released to date under the Marvel Entertainment banner. While director Chloé Zhao hasn’t shown a penchant for David Lean–style epics to this point … Continue reading Now Playing — Eternals
Coffee for Two 