If “Dune” from 2021 was a preface, an introduction, breaking us gently into the dense universe of author Frank Herbert, then “Dune Part Two” is an acceleration. With each of his films, director, now auteur Denis Villeneuve, hones his craft, creating films with a brilliance that has lately only been seen in Christopher Nolan’s films. […]
I’m not sure we needed another “Wonka” film reboot. Although, like with the chocolate itself, “needs” and “wants” are often confused. Paul King, the director of the adorable “Paddington” films, brings his whimsical touch to the Willy Wonka origin story. The world’s new favorite movie star, Timothee Chalamet (“Call Me By Your Name,” “Dune”), sings
Luca Guadagnino may be most well-known for his critically acclaimed adaptation of André Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name, but his work has spanned many genres and subjects. His twisty psychological drama A Bigger Splash starred Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes as former lovers with unfinished business on a gorgeous Italian holiday. His limited series
Adam McKay has become an auteur in the worst way. His films, boasting large casts and “important issues”, talk down to the viewer, patronizing his audience under the veil of entertainment. His latest “Don’t Look Up” for Netflix is the least articulate of his recent best picture nominated films (“Vice”, “The Big Short”). Early scenes
Wes Anderson’s stamp (wry humor, meaningful free association, characters in caricature, intrigue/mystery, curiosity, folksy drama, to name a few) is all over “The French Dispatch,” a group of stories about a Frenchified newspaper in Lawrence, Kansas, with that name owned by Arthur Howitzer, Jr., after his father, the founder of the publication died.
It would never take much rebooting of Frank Herbert’s beloved “Dune” to be better than its 1984 disappointment helmed by David Lynch. Like “The Lord of the Rings” or Comic Book adaptions, the technology needed to be invented to match the imagination and world-building in the science fiction epic, long hailed the greatest of all
Woody Allen’s 48th feature-length film is another forgettable trite romantic comedy; ironic since “A Rainy Day in New York” has become one of his most controversial. Set to debut in 2018 amidst the “Me Too” movement, allegations, old and new, against the Oscar-winning filmmaker resulted in many of the cast including Chalamet, donating their salary
“Short and spicy”, “married or dead”, those were the parameters Louisa May Alcott was given on how to write women and end her stories in the 1850’s. Academy Award nominated director Greta Gerwig brings Alcott’s “Little Women” back to life 25 years after it’s last theatrical treatment that starred Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon. Short
Filmmaker David Michôd (“Animal Kingdom,” “The Rover”) and fellow Australian Justin Kurzel (“Macbeth,” “True History of the Kelly Gang“) have more in common than hailing from the same country. Both are visionary filmmakers, not directors who can see the future of cinema necessarily, but artists who create an entire film around an initial or singular
