King of Staten Island, Dethroned

Sorry pals, this is not Apatow’s best film yet, though the movie starred many of my favorites. The reasons are varied, but primary may be the fact that Pete Davidson’s recent stand up special contained many of the anecdotes found in this based on his real life film. And because Pete is such an honest,… Continue reading King of Staten Island, Dethroned

Coogan + Brydon=Bliss: A Trip to Greece

Here’s a first: I rented the new, fourth and unfortunately last of Michael Winterbottom’s Trip series with the delectable Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon AND was enjoying it so intensely, I watched it in spurts in purpose. Their impersonations, singing, sound effects are so dizzying, their conversations so witty and fun, that why you would… Continue reading Coogan + Brydon=Bliss: A Trip to Greece

Marriage Story Busts into My Top Three of the Year, Easily!

As if my birthday wasn’t fun enough in NYC with my beautiful son Liam, yesterday thanks to my-friend-who-treats-me-like-gold Jack Guren, I was privileged enough to see a screener of Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach’s take on the gut wrenching process of divorce. You’d think the way our jaded culture (and myself in colder moments) throws the… Continue reading Marriage Story Busts into My Top Three of the Year, Easily!

Jaded (not Dolemite) is My Name

I sincerely respect the time and effort that goes into screenwriting and movie making. And I appreciated the message behind Dolemite is My Name, follow your dreams, take a chance. And so I feel jaded saying that similar to Pain & Glory, I was non-plussed by Dolemite is My Name. Again, I appreciated the story,… Continue reading Jaded (not Dolemite) is My Name

Glad It’s Night and The Two Popes

To finish off the Cine-World Film Festival at Burns Court Theater in Sarasota, the programmers showed The Two Popes, directed by Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener) and written by Andrew McCarten (Theory of Everything and Bohemian Rhapsody). The Two Popes, while a tiny bit bloated (chop off the first chaotic ten minutes), was charming and… Continue reading Glad It’s Night and The Two Popes