UNSTOPPABLE
Unstoppable is a mashup of an underdog sports movie and a domestic drama about a family terrorized by an abusive father. The worst thing I can say about it is that it is conventional, but since when is that a…
I’M STILL HERE: AN UNSOLVED MYSTERY
I admire Walter Salles’ work, and I’m especially fond of his acclaimed features Central Station and The Motorcycle Diaries. He has returned to his Brazilian roots for another exceptional narrative, I’m Still Here…but he hastens to explain that it’s not the story, or…
REMEMBERING DAVID LYNCH
Some forty years ago I first met David Lynch in a setting that could have come from an episode of Twin Peaks: the now-defunct Studio City branch of DuPar’s, an all-American coffee shop where he had come to enjoy a well-crafted…
STAN & OLLIE & CHARLEY & THE LITTLE RASCALS IN SILENT COMEDY CLASSICS
If you are a Laurel and Hardy devotee it’s probably old news that the second volume of beautifully restored shorts has been released on Blu-ray and DVD by Flicker Alley. Covering the year 1928, the second year of their…
THE LAST SHOWGIRL
The first feature film directed by Gia Coppola, Eleanor and Francis’s granddaughter, is a respectable but unmemorable vehicle for former Baywatch and Playboy pin-up Pamela Anderson. The script has been custom-tailored for her and she comes off well, but the film has only…
THE BRUTALIST
Every rare now and then, a performance comes along that is so organic and natural that even though one is familiar with the actor all memories of his other work recede. That’s how I felt watching Adrien Brody in The…
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN: MY FAVORITE FILM OF THE YEAR
Biographical films are a minefield, but A Complete Unknown dodges every trap and emerges as my favorite movie of 2024. No one is more surprised than I, because I’ve never been a Bob Dylan fan… but Timothée Chalamet delivers a compelling…
