‘READY PLAYER ONE’ ALMOST WINS
I am not a gamer, but I had no trouble immersing myself in the hyperkinetic world of Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One and had a good time watching it—for a while. I don’t share the same degree of nostalgia for…
‘ISLE OF DOGS’ OFFERS REWARDS—AND REGRETS
It may be the height of redundancy to call a Wes Anderson film eccentric, but that’s the word that comes to mind as I ponder his newest creation, Isle of Dogs. Like The Fantastic Mr. Fox, it is executed in stop-motion animation and…
ALL HAIL ‘KING OF JAZZ’ FROM CRITERION
If you’re wondering why there are shouts of jubilation from film buffs and aficionados of pre-swing-era music it’s because the Criterion Collection has released a beautiful Blu-ray and DVD of King of Jazz (1930), The movie features Bing Crosby’s…
CRITERION OFFERS MODERN CLASSICS
I tend to associate the Criterion Collection with exemplary releases of classics from Hollywood (like the recent Blu-ray of John Ford’s Young Mr. Lincoln) and international cinema (like Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr ). But Criterion is also home to…
FROM MUHAMMAD ALI TO JIM GAFFIGAN: ADVENTURES AT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST
South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas has become a “must” for my daughter Jessie and me. Originally a music event, its film component is now a launchpad for movies big and small and a gathering place for anyone…
MARVELOUS MOVIE MEMORABILIA AT AUCTION
I am a sucker for movie collectibles, all sorts. That’s why my wife and I view the arrival of a new auction catalog from Hake’s Americana and Collectibles with mixed emotions: on the one hand, we love seeing what…
THE MIXED BLESSINGS OF ‘A WRINKLE IN TIME’
I wouldn’t presume to guess how a 12-year-old will respond to this film, especially if that girl or boy hasn’t read Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved book. I can only express my feelings, which are decidedly mixed. On the one hand,…
