Steven Spielberg’s musical remake “West Side Story” leads the pack, offering a modern update on the tarnished Oscar-winning best picture of 1961. Full disclosure: Spielberg’s “West Side Story” was my and likely other non-Broadway fans’ entry point into the material. Having never experienced the Broadway show, nor the original film, or even heard a single […]
What starts out as a “Bug”-type science fiction film slowly transitions into something else entirely. Without spoiling what’s going on here, I’ll says “Encounter” is at its core an emotional father and son’s road trip thriller. Writer/director Michael Pearce plays with genre, starting off as a science-fictiaon-virus-type thriller that slowly morphs into an intense
The impressionistic nature of this film transports you to the streets of Napoli, writer/director Paolo Sorrentino’s hometown, and introduces his large rambunctious family, most apparently living in the same apartment building. It’s a reflection on his life and about his personal qualities and experiences that led him into filmmaking as a writer, director, actor, and book
Wolf implies that “species identification disorder” is common, when in fact “species dysphoria” is a very rare condition. I found this movie misleading and distasteful in so many ways. First of all, the “hospital” staff treat the humans like animals, expecting them to become human, e.g., shaming them into compliance. The filmmakers appear to know nothing about proven behavioral
Yes there is a piano in Jane Campions new film, the Oscar nominated director worried about that element with “The Power of the Dog”, but has since embraced the idea that they are both companion pieces and bookends to her career. The director from New Zealand used her home country to stand in for Montana
Encanto starts out being charming and a bit too much like a typical Disney movie. It’s rather sugary and hypomanic. Many of the words in the rap singing will go over many people’s heads, but the viewer easily gets the impression that the household is a most happy place, and that the Madrigal family’s powers to do good
“The Humans”, based on the award winning stage play is not only one of the best stage to screen adaptions this year, but might be the best example of mainstream genre fusion this year. Is it a Thanksgiving horror film, a comedy, a suspense drama? It’s all those things and none of them. While “The
The highly anticipated “House of Gucci” by Ridley Scott isn’t quite the film everyone hoped or anticipated. It’s interesting how ‘Gucci’ was supposed to be the sure fire Oscar player, some even suggesting Lady Gaga back as a nominee sight-unseen. Now it looks like the film will be lucky to even score a makeup or
I can see why so many people are taken with C’mon C’mon, a tender story about a man who has never been around children is suddenly charged with taking care of his nine year-old nephew while the parents deal with the father’s mental illness. What was supposed to be a few days turns into weeks, so the
I hesitate to make bold awards predictions even though by mid-November we are knee deep in the films that will vie for top honors. With that being said, unless there’s another best actor contender hiding somewhere, Will Smith is the one to beat for his transformative performance in “King Richard.” The two-time Oscar nominee, known