Although I was an AP scholar in both European and American history in high school, I don’t count myself as a history buff. An occasional historical biography or autobiography is about the extent of my interest. This limitation means that I can’t always tell the real history from the events on the big screen when […]
A 26 year-old Negro League baseball player finds an unlikely benefactor and is given the chance to break Major League Baseball‘s color barrier while wearing number 42. Jack (Jackie) Robinson‘s journey from the simple buses of Negro League baseball to becoming the first black player in the all-white Major Leagues since a color ban was instituted is a […]
I’m a big fan of police dramas. Movies like Heat and The Departed work well if the characters are developed and the plot is deep enough to draw you in but not so complicated that you need a scorecard. I was taken by surprise by the recent import from England called The Sweeney. It’s a film adaptation […]
An emotionally disconnected teen struggles after the unexpected death of her father forces her to confront a distant mother and an uncle she never knew existed in Stoker. 18 year-old India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska) suddenly finds herself thrown into unknown territory when her beloved father (played in flashback by Dermot Mulroney) is killed in a […]
Gimmicks or unconventional plot conventions in movies work only as much as they are supported by the story or other major elements. The black-and-white segments of The Wizard of Oz work so well because they truly balance the rest of the story and take place in a different world. Upside Down tries something creative that […]
Four simple Aboriginal girls and a washed up former events director team up to create a singing sensation and learn about life in The Sapphires. The year is 1968 and, for decades, the Australian government has oppressed the indigenous native Australians forcing them to live on reserves or missions, denying them proper education and requiring […]
I love creepy, moody films whether they’re thrillers, horror flicks or some combination thereof. The work of some filmmakers like David Cronenberg, Tim Burton and David Lynch just ooze unique characteristics and techniques that identify them. Korean director Park Chan-wook fits in with that company, too. Known best as cowriter/director of the Vengeance Trilogy (Sympathy […]
…a solid film with some genuinely funny scenes and a good mix of reality and affirmation.
I sometimes feel helpless as a moviegoer when I watch a disaster unfold before me that I can do nothing about. I’m not talking about asteroids in a movie like Armageddon or Deep Impact. I’m referring to the slow descent of a filmmaker’s career as each successive movie is less creative and entertaining than the […]
A soon-to-be father, not sure about his ability to handle parenting suddenly finds that he’s the biological father of 533 children in the French Canadian comedy, Starbuck. David Wozniak (Patrick Huard) is a 40-something screw-up. He can’t seem to do anything right in life. He owes loan sharks $80,000, can’t handle a simple meat delivery […]
Lightning does sometimes strike twice in the movie business. Think of the Indiana Jones movies and at least the first two movies in the Alien franchise. I have to admit that I’m an optimistic moviegoer, which means that I don’t go into a movie as most major reviewers do with an agenda, an unfounded bias […]
1Detailed character studies are often like catnip for certain moviegoers. A movie of this type that’s done well can be a joy to experience in the right hands. If someone else flubs it, that kind of scrutiny can be exhausting to watch. Fortunately, Like Someone in Love is the work of a skilled filmmaker who […]