Two sisters emigrate from Poland to America only to find it less welcoming than they anticipated in The Immigrant. In 1921, Poland was in the final year of a critical war for its own survival against the emerging and expanding Russian Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin. The resulting devastation drove many Poles to flee the country for other […]
The mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy officer struggles against social norms to find her own identity in Belle. A curious portrait from 1779 was the inspiration behind the story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). When Dido’s mother passes away unexpectedly, word is sent out to her estranged father, Captain Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode), an […]
A former British prisoner of war struggles to find peace of mind after finding the love of his life in The Railway Man. Eric Lomax (Colin Firth) is obsessed with all things train related. He knows every timetable, every route and every type of locomotive. One day in the 1960s, while traveling in a dining […]
Artificial intelligence has been a source of fear in the movies ever since some human being imagined a plot in which a smart computer might not like its subservience to humanity. There are many examples of this theme, notably 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and WarGames. Despite all of the modern […]
A onetime topflight salsa protégé is drawn back to the rigors of dance in Cuban Fury. In his early teens, Bruce Garrett (Nick Frost) was a salsa savant, ready to make his mark on the world by claiming a local major dance title. With his revered salsa coach, Ron (Ian McShane), awaiting his arrival, Bruce […]
A melancholy office worker builds a curious relationship with the wife of a man whose lunch he’s mistakenly receiving in The Lunchbox. One of the local traditions to be found in Mumbai are the “dabbawalas,” or the men who deliver round, canister-like lunchboxes that most workers have delivered either from home or from a local […]
A group of Palestinian friends are turned against each other while one searches for a path out in Omar. The West Bank wall creates not only a divide between people but also a demarcation point between perceptions and choices. Those on the Israeli side see the wall as a barrier against terrorism, while Palestinians on […]
A hopeful valet with a blue-collar background strikes up an unlikely relationship with a lonely girl from an upper-class family in Endless Love. This remake of a 1981 film that starred a young Brooke Shields reimagines the original story about two young classmates who find each other just after their high school graduation. David Elliot […]
A desperate, wanted man compels a single mother and her son to give him shelter in Labor Day. When I was young, I wrote a detailed book report on the curious, true-life story of Patty Hearst. In 1974, the 19-year-old granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst was kidnapped from her apartment and held for […]
Three unenlightened best friends find it challenging to keep their vow to avoid a serious romantic relationship in That Awkward Moment. When one of their friends finds out that his storybook marriage is over, the three agree on a pact to swear off all serious romantic relationships. Casual sex is the order of the day, but […]
A sly but well-meaning insurance salesman is spellbound by his attraction for the calculating wife of one of his clients in Double Indemnity. This classic film from 1944 is one of the 10 films that famed movie critic Roger Ebert asked me to watch as part of a discussion on the differences between various types […]
A lonely introvert finds comfort in the “arms” of his new, highly-advanced cell phone operating system in Her. Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) is demoralized by the breakup of his marriage to his first love, Catherine (Rooney Mara). It doesn’t help matters that his job as a creative letter writer requires him to be fully in […]