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
The protagonist of Last Night in Soho, Edgar Wright’s latest film, can be viewed as a surrogate for any number of filmmakers, including, just maybe, the one who presides over her story. Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie) is a young woman from … Continue reading Now Playing — Last Night in Soho
The Harder They Fall, the feature directorial debut of Jeymes Samuel, is awash in its influences, and that seems to be the point. The film is a mish-mash of Spaghetti Westerns, Sam Peckinpah, John Ford, and Howard Hawks, modernized with … Continue reading Now Playing — The Harder They Fall
Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival is a science fiction film dominated by ideas. His Blade Runner 2049 is a science fiction film dominated by imagery. Dune strikes me as the filmmaker’s attempt to mesh those two divergent approaches together into a singular … Continue reading Now Playing — Dune
The Worst Person in the World lays out its structure at the very top. The film consists, viewers are informed, of a prologue, twelve chapters, and an epilogue. The table of contents presented, the film introduces Julie (Renate Reinsve), a … Continue reading Now Playing — The Worst Person in the World
The core conceit of Petite Maman emerges with gentle grace. A young family — mother, father, eight-year-old daughter — returns to a childhood home to clear out the belongings of a recently deceased relative. It is a somber affair, but … Continue reading Now Playing — Petite Maman
Coffee for Two 