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STAR WARS: VARIATIONS ON A THEME
I saw Star Wars in 1977 at the Loews State Theater in Manhattan, now long-gone. Little did I know that the universe George Lucas created would still be alive and well decades later. Diehard fans have a singular attachment to this…
CATS: MUSIC MINUS MAGIC
Some things shouldn’t be tampered with. I enjoyed Cats onstage, where the theatrical experience worked its magic to great effect. The new film never swept me up as I hoped it might; for all its rich ingredients it felt like a…
BOMBSHELL: MUCH ADO
It’s not uncommon for me to stare at a beautiful woman like Charlize Theron, but in Bombshell I was fixated on her face for the wrong reason: I kept trying to figure out why it looked odd. That’s because her features…
KNIVES OUT: A SHARP BLEND OF COMEDY AND WHODUNIT
Writer-director Rian Johnson has only made a handful of films, from his high-school noir debut Brick to the most recent Star Wars epic. Now he’s applied his ingenuity to an old-fashioned whodunit. As a longtime Agatha Christie fan he’s called on deep knowledge…
THE TWO POPES: ONE OF THIS YEAR’S FINEST
One of the most unpredictable and satisfying films of the year, The Two Popes represents a collaboration of great talents: writer Anthony McCarten (The Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour), director Fernando Mereilles (City of God, The Constant Gardener), and two of…
QUEEN & SLIM: ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Comparisons to Bonnie and Clyde may be inevitable, but even with its faults Queen & Slim stands on its own. It’s sure to provoke an emotional response, especially from African American audiences. The film reflects a seething anger borne of police shootings we’ve…
FROZEN 2
I may not have been the biggest fan of Frozen but I certainly understood its widespread appeal. It offered not one but two princesses and a significant empowerment message for girls, an endearing comedy figure in Olaf, an unconventional leading man,…
