At the end of Grand Budapest Hotel, I wanted to clap my hands in delight. Indeed—delight best sums up how I felt about the film. It was a fun, quirky, witty romp along a tale of eccentric antics, fabulously entertaining in spite of the darker thread of the war coming to Europe. Having that pending…
Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza from Italy) is, well, different. As my movie companion and I left the theater, we shared our perplexity over what, exactly, the movie was about. I’ve sat with it for several days now, but still, I’ve not much more than questions and…
I’m sandwiching my weekend with two foreign films; other than having seen both previews, this is all else I knew going in, from NPR: “Audiences are being offered an intriguing exercise in double vision over the next couple of weeks: two movies about Palestinian informants and their complicated relationships with Israel’s secret service, one directed…
Per the critics on Fandango, The Lego Movie was a “must go” flick. Per my friend’s friend’s review, it had lots to offer. Per me, I wonder how many people will be satisfied to stop at the surface and believe they saw the underlying themes, only to ignore the deeper current I felt running through…
My 2014 Oscar movie road ended with a viewing of American Hustle—one of the movies I had so anticipated all year after seeing the first trailer that was merely a stream of scenes woven together to the tunes of fantastic music. The names promised a great movie. And the actors behind those names did not…
It’s been several weeks since I saw Her. My delay in writing, though, should not reflect a bit on how good this movie was. It was good. And what a surprise of a lot of warmth I found in this quirky little movie. When I saw the trailers, it felt formulaic. It felt forced. It…
Inside Llewyn Davis is an enjoyable movie—dare I say, an easy movie. After the other movies I’ve seen this season, it was a nice change. Don’t get me wrong: this isn’t a pretty movie or a happy movie. But it’s basic. It’s also basic done very well. It doesn’t have a grand statement on life;…
If you are over 40, please be sure you see Nebraska. It’s an incredible heartwarming, emotion-tugging, eye-opening, reality-grounding, laugh-out-loud film about aging, parents, family, middle-age, love, acceptance, understanding, and life. And it is excellent. Granted, for the first half hour, I found myself waiting for one of Will Forte’s SNL characters to turn to the…
Matthew McConaughey delivers what I see as his best performance to date in Dallas Buyer’s Club, a movie great enough in its own right in telling its own incredibly compelling story but made remarkable by what McConaughey brings. Add Jared Leto, whose acting trumps McConaughey’s, and this is indeed a must-see film. The story, which…
What Robert Redford does with the expression on his face, the stare of his gaze, the slump of his shoulders – – – all work to demonstrate the true skill and craft that is acting. Whether he was perfectly suited for the role or the role for him, it is a match unlike most. I…
Dame Judith Dench delivers a performance that amazed me at her ability to show how deep shame can run and how strong a grasp it keeps on a soul. Her quiet looks, her grimaced face, her bright glimpses of getting past, only to see her shrink back beneath the suffocating covers of inflicted and ingrained…
Movies have made me cry, weep, and hide my head in angst. Before watching this film, none had made me want to vomit at the level of disgust at humanity 12 Years a Slave evokes. Many cultures in the past have enslaved, imprisoned, and suppressed and oppressed others. (Many still do. Human trafficking, alas, is…
It seems that so many people have strong feelings about Woody Allen. I do not—in either direction. Even without any bias, I was intrigued with his latest film, Blue Jasmine. And I’m glad I saw it. Like so many of my other movies this summer, this was on my radar based on it being “on…
The Sessions is a charming film about love, respect, and the need for intimacy. It evokes a sense of kindness and patience that simply leaves you feeling good—no matter how the inevitable ending of the story arrives. John Hawkes as Mark is superb in his role, showing the depth of a human no matter the…
I had wanted to see this film since I saw the trailer. And I’m glad I did. I wasn’t sure how I would feel, but I went. After the press went south for the subject, I had hesitated. And I had waffled—-how did I feel about such? But every time I waffled, I rested on…