REMEMBERING HUGH HEFNER
There will be much written about Hef in the days ahead, reiterating the story of the self-made man who built an empire and championed not only sexual liberation but freedom of speech. Yet I doubt that many obituaries will…
LUCKY: A TESTAMENT TO HARRY DEAN STANTON
Lucky is a remarkable film, a living testament to the talent and formidable screen presence of the late Harry Dean Stanton. It was written as a vehicle for the nonagenarian actor by his longtime assistant, Logan Sparks, in collaboration…
AMERICAN MADE: CRUISE OUT OF CONTROL
If audiences are growing weary of seeing the legend “Based on a true story…” at the beginning of movies, they haven’t discouraged Hollywood from continuing to mine a seemingly bottomless reserve of real-life material. American Made gives director Doug…
VICTORIA & ABDUL: A PERFECT SHOWCASE FOR JUDI DENCH
James Barrie defined the word ‘charm’ by writing, “If you have it, you don’t need to have anything else; and if you don’t have it, it doesn’t much matter what else you have.” Victoria & Abdul has it in spades, thanks…
KINGSMEN: FOOLS GOLD
For Matthew Vaughn, too much is never enough. Excess, hand-in-hand with bad taste, marks most of his films, even when they’re entertaining. We can debate the merits of Kick-ass, but there’s not much to discuss when it comes to…
NEW AND NOTABLE FILM BOOKS: SEPTEMBER 2017
OPENING WEDNESDAY AT A THEATER OR DRIVE-IN NEAR YOU: THE SHADOW CINEMA OF THE AMERICAN ‘70s by Charles Taylor (Bloomsbury) Taylor opens a door to one of the richest periods of American filmmaking—not just the 70s but the “disreputable”…
WHY ‘MOTHER!’
Lesson for today: never marry an artist, especially a poet. There! I’ve just saved you two hours. To be clear, I would never discourage anyone from seeing a film that interests them, especially someone who admires Darren Aronofsky’s work.…
