Jon Mirsalis is a very talented guy, as anyone who has heard him accompany silent films over the years can confirm. He has even integrated a synthesizer into his work, to make his scores more effective by replicating the…
A Dog’s Purpose is a sucker punch for people who love their pets, myself included. This adaptation of W. Bruce Campbell’s best-selling book isn’t terribly original or profound but it is sweet—some would say overly so, but I’m not…
Although he has a substantial résumé, it took A Separation to put Iranian writer-director Asghar Farhadi on the international map. It’s one of the most intense movies I’ve ever seen. The Past confirmed his skill as a storyteller. His…
Matthew McConaughey has undergone another physical transformation to play the leading character in Gold–he’s balding, snaggle-toothed, and has a beer belly. But the reason this movie works so well is that we believe the his character from the inside…
For some of you she’s Mary Richards. Maybe you know her as Laura Petrie. For my generation and many that followed she will always be that feisty, independent brunette with an ear to ear smile. And while it’s her two…
America first encountered “Movie Mike” Clark as a 10-year-old film expert on the hugely popular TV quiz show The $64,000 Question. I met him when he was attending the NYU Graduate School of Cinema and we’ve been friends ever…
I’m not sure why people think that being a film critic makes me a good prognosticator when it comes to the Academy Awards. Two good friends of mine are high-profile Oscar pundits and like everyone else, they had some…