I love movies that take me someplace that I will never go or introduce a lifestyle that is markedly foreign because I can take that journey from the comfort of a theater seat. Fill the Void is that type of movie because it sets things firmly in an ultra-Orthodox community in Tel Aviv for a […]
A young Hasidic Israeli girl has to balance her dreams and desires against the pressures of her family and faith in Fill the Void. This is the film that represented the country at this year’s Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film — though it didn’t win. The film is written by Rama Burshtein, a native New York […]
A freshly-recruited agent from a top-flight private intelligence company goes deep undercover to infiltrate an eco-terrorist group in The East. Relative newcomer Brit Marling, last seen as the daughter in Arbitrage and also the recent The Company You Keep, stars as an undercover agent named Sarah who is assigned by her boss (Patricia Clarkson) to gain the trust […]
Three 15-year-olds spend their summer building a makeshift house in the woods and find themselves along the way in the coming-of-age tale The Kings of Summer. Back in 1979, my closest friends and I scoured the landscape to collect every type of building material we could get our hands on. The goal was to build […]
A heartless mob hit man plies his daily trade of death and dismemberment while also managing to keep his job a secret from his wife and two daughters in the true story of The Iceman. Richard Kuklinski was a monster the likes of which the world has rarely produced. Here was an individual who, due […]
Unfortunately, history almost always loses out to creativity when money’s on the line. That appears to be the case here.
Classic books don’t always translate well to classic movies. These adaptations seem to use the parts of the books that suit the filmmaker’s vision and throw away other elements that don’t, whether they’re important in the books or not. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is often regarded as “The Great American Novel.” Over […]
Tobey Maguire as young Nick Carroway leaves behind his midwest home for a shot at fame and fortune in 1920s New York City where he meets the most intriguing person of his life in The Great Gatsby. This is a film I’ve been looking forward to since the first previews appeared. This latest interpretation of the book comes to […]
Two 14 year-old boys discover a boat lodged in a tree on a remote island along with the curious stranger living in it, who goes by the name of Mud. This is one of those movies that reviewers go entirely gaga over. Incredible acting, great look and deep messages. Jeff Nichols headed up a compelling […]
The potential long-term consequences of the choices we make come under the microscope in Derek Cianfrance‘s latest film, The Place Beyond the Pines. Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling), a struggling motorcycle stunt rider, finds out that a past lover (Eve Mendes) has a baby boy that he fathered the year before. He decides that he has to […]
Family members involved with crime go back much further in the movies than The Godfather. Conflicts between brothers go back even further than that if you take it all the way to Cain and Abel. These subjects are explored in detail in the poorly named My Brother the Devil. The glamour of easy money from […]
I know nothing about Scotch whisky. I’ve had it three or four times in my life, and I think I had really good brands based on the assessments of the friends who brought the bottles. Of course, there are many enthusiasts around the world who spend huge amounts of money on the spirits. Whether you […]