DEAD MAN’S WIRE
If you lived in or around Indianapolis in the late 1970s you probably know the real story that inspired this film, but it was new to me. The versatile Bill Skarsgård plays a man who has grown so furious…
SONG SUNG BLUE
I didn’t know what to expect from a movie about a man and woman who perform as a Neil Diamond tribute band…but I found myself falling in love with Song Sung Blue. Cheers to writer-director Craig Brewer for recognizing the potential…
THE CHORAL
Ralph Fiennes is always worth watching, and he heads the cast of The Choral, an absorbing drama directed by the eminent Nicholas Hytner and written by the last living member of Beyond the Fringe, Alan Bennett. Their previous collaborations on stage and screen brought us The Madness of King George and…
AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH
Any filmmaker who asks a moviegoer to sit still for more than three hours had better have a really good reason. James Cameron does not. I lost an afternoon to the latest AVATAR movie and I can’t get it…
JAY KELLY
Watching the latest film from Noah Baumbach, which he wrote with the gifted actress Emily Mortimer, I couldn’t help but picture Marcello Mastroianni, taking stock of his life in Fellini’s 8 ½ and La Dolce Vita. Baumbach’s version of…
Nouvelle Vague
Director Richard Linklater has one of the most unusual resumés of any American filmmaker. He has defined slacker culture—while discovering bright young talent—with his debut feature Dazed and Confused, explored three stages of a relationship (in Before Sunset, Before Sunrise and Before Midnight),…
LABORS OF LOVE: FROM HITCHCOCK TO LAUREL & HARDY
Everyone has to make a living. I don’t begrudge anyone who punches a clock or devotes his/herself to a job that isn’t terribly rewarding. But I have special admiration for people who manage to pay the bills and still—often…
