PARALLEL MOTHERS: ALMODÓVAR’S LATEST
Pedro Almodóvar is a master stylist and storyteller. As a longtime fan I am glad he is so prolific, because if one of his films doesn’t meet my (high) expectations I console myself with the knowledge that there is…
BEING THE RICARDOS: IN BLACK & WHITE AND COLOR
I’m not a fan of show-business biopics, on the whole. Too often the leading actors can’t capture what made the stars they’re playing so special. Others succumb to overly familiar Hollywood storytelling tropes. Being the Ricardos is a rare exception because…
NIGHTMARE ALLEY: FILM NOIR PERFECTION
Some filmmakers get so caught up in the look and feel of their films that they lose their grip on the storytelling. Others know how to tell a good story but don’t have the money or the clout to…
THE TENDER BAR: CYNICS NEED NOT APPLY
The Tender Bar is based on a memoir by J.E. Moehringer, adapted by the screenwriter of The Departed and Kingdom of Heaven, William Monaghan. It’s a rose-colored remembrance of his youth and transition to adulthood, with an absentee father…
WEST SIDE STORY…AGAIN
Was anyone hankering for a new film adaptation of West Side Story? Did this venerable musical need refreshing? I honestly don’t think so. The multi-Oscar-winning 1961 movie is unquestionably dated, but it is a product of its time and the prevailing…
THE FRENCH DISPATCH: QUEL FROMAGE
Writer-director Wes Anderson enjoys inventing worlds all his own, then inviting his ever-growing community of actors to occupy them so fully that we, too, become engaged. It’s a risky proposition that sometimes works beautifully (The Grand Budapest Hotel) and…
THE BEST MOVIE BOOKSTORE IN THE WORLD
I never dreamed I would be in partnership with the world-famous Larry Edmunds Bookshop, but they are your one-stop source for a personally signed copy of my brand-new book Starstruck: My Unlikely Road to Hollywood (GoodKnight Books) When I made my…
