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THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD
I’m a sucker for Charles Dickens, and I must confess I came to him through movies. It was a showing of the 1935 David Copperfield that inspired me to read the source novel when I was a boy; then I became…
THE GHOST OF PETER SELLERS
With each passing year we see more documentaries about films and filmmakers. Some get only a passing nod while others are embraced by critics and buffs alike. In The Ghost of Peter Sellers, Hungarian-born filmmaker Peter Medak travels back 47…
THE TRIP TO GREECE
If you’ve seen any or all of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon’s previous ventures (The Trip, The Trip to Italy, The Trip to Spain), you know what to expect from this latest venture from director Michael Winterbottom: an attractive…
MILITARY WIVES
Military Wives is unapologetically corny and predictable…yet somehow it works. I tried to resist, but I love Kristin Scott Thomas and ultimately I surrendered to the movie. Although it is written by two women (Rachel Tunnard and Rosanne Flynne) it…
PIXAR SCORES WITH HEARTFELT ‘ONWARD’
With an uninspired title like Onward the newest offering from Pixar doesn’t do itself justice. Derived from director and co-writer Dan Scanlon’s experience growing up without knowing his father, this heartfelt film scores a direct hit on our emotions. Ian (voiced…
A SINGULAR VOICE: KELLY REICHARDT’S ‘FIRST COW’
Kelly Reichardt’s slowly paced films aren’t everyone’s cup of milk, but I thoroughly enjoyed her latest effort, First Cow. I’ve been a fan since her 2006 feature Old Joy, which like this one deals with friendship in a serene setting. Since then…
SORRY WE MISSED YOU: ANOTHER SMALL GEM FROM KEN LOACH
Ken Loach’s follow-up to the heartrending I, Daniel Blake covers similar ground, dramatizing the way “the system” of commerce and government in the 21st century devalues and undermines working-class people. Sorry We Missed You was filmed in Newcastle, England but could be transposed to…
