Sorry Cary Joji Fukunaga, Maria Schrader beat you in the writing and directing departments this weekend. In fact, let me count the ways… 1. Sex appeal: though the lead character of “I’m Your Man” (Maria Schrader’s film) wears librarian fashions, there is an actual passionate sex scene. Whereas James Bond, with the emotional range of… Continue reading Germans and Women win the weekend film contest: No Time To Cry
Category: action/suspense
Many Paints in a New Work
I truly enjoyed The Many Saints of Newark. To be fair, I was confused for the first 15 minutes, wishing they all had name tags, but David Chase and Lawrence Konner (with direction by Alan Taylor) had to paint with broad strokes in order to fit in the whole family. So I get it. And… Continue reading Many Paints in a New Work
Like the Most Annoying Bourne Identity: Cruella
I can’t remember where in the sequence the Bourne film was that drove me nuts, but Cruella achieved likewise. Their common ailment? I really don’t care to watch someone (or a group of three in Cruella) run for two hours straight since a real marathon would have much more substance. This is not to say… Continue reading Like the Most Annoying Bourne Identity: Cruella
The Dry, a 100% until the last ten minutes, no spoilers
What fun it was to see The Dry on the big screen, an eerie movie rendition of a Jane Harper novel written and directed by Robert Connolly, winner of several Aussie Awards. He also had help writing from fellow Australian Harry Cripps and Jane Harper herself. First, whatever supplements Eric Bana is taking, get thee… Continue reading The Dry, a 100% until the last ten minutes, no spoilers
Sub ‘Twisted’ for ‘Promising’ Young Woman
Emerald Fennell’s written and directed Promising Young Woman is worth seeing. Good twists, scant violence, bravo on both counts. Now let’s talk about assuming your audience is intelligent, a demographic of which I guess Emerald doesn’t care to appeal. Much like Fincher’s Gone Girl, the characters are rather 2-D, there’s bad frat boys, there’s disgraced,… Continue reading Sub ‘Twisted’ for ‘Promising’ Young Woman
Black Bear and Black Bottom (Ma Rainey’s)
Black Bear, written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine, had a lot of promise, yet landed with a thud. Let’s just say it’s a movie about a screenwriter full of ideas. The lead is one of my favorite comedic actresses Aubrey Plaza (my faves: Ingrid Goes West &An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn). And while… Continue reading Black Bear and Black Bottom (Ma Rainey’s)
The Parallax View’s 1974 Sage Advice for 2020
Coincidentally themed, Rashomon (1950) and The Parallax View (1974), a film I watched last night, both address how an object (in both films the object in question is a crime) can look different depending on the angle from which you view it. An not to sound too much like Mister Rogers, but, ‘Kids, isn’t that… Continue reading The Parallax View’s 1974 Sage Advice for 2020
You Go Girls!: Blow the Man Down
Hey Bridget Savage and Danielle Krudy, you go girls!! I loved their moody noir set in a Maine fishing town. The movie opens with fishmen singing traditional sea faring songs. And yet the movie doesn’t take itself too serious, and one of the fishmen actually breaks the fourth wall giving a knowing look and a… Continue reading You Go Girls!: Blow the Man Down
Phone Booth from 2002
Hey, just curious…do I ever get to retire? Trust me, I feel blessed to be working 33 hours this week, BUT just when I thought I was on easy street, working part-time and having fun dog sitting, here comes Covid-19 to screw up the works. At least my gravestone will say “She Worked It!” Last… Continue reading Phone Booth from 2002
A Girl Walks Into a Movie Theater…
A girl walks into a movie theater, intent on seeing Little Women, but just as I veer towards the men’s group at any Super Bowl party, the minute I heard a woman say how Little Women dripped a little too much maudlin, I spun and drove for a power lay up back into Uncut Gems.… Continue reading A Girl Walks Into a Movie Theater…