SHE CAME TO ME
As a fan of such films as Personal Velocity and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, I looked forward to the latest work by writer-director Rebecca Miller. But I can only describe She Came to Me as odd. A heavy-handed farce, it is acted…
MIRANDA’S VICTIM: AN IMPORTANT STORY
The term “Miranda Rights” will be familiar to anyone who watches police procedurals on TV. This film follows the sexual assault case that led to American citizens being read their “Miranda rights” when being arrested. The woman who bravely…
THE FILM BOOKS THAT MATTERED TO ME
Last week Scott Feinberg at The Hollywood Reporter published the results of a survey to determine the 100 greatest film books of all time. I was delighted to find that I made it to the list at #19 for Leonard Maltin’s Movie…
A CELEBRATION OF CLASSIC COMEDY
This is a great time to be a fan of vintage comedy, from the silent era onward. A brace of new Blu-ray restorations and books will make life a little brighter for both the novice and the aficionado. Add…
BOTTOMS: COMEDY FROM A FRESH NEW VOICE
Writer-director Emma Seligman graduated from NYU just six years ago but she’s fast becoming a media darling. Two years ago her debut feature, Shiva Baby, earned her the John Cassavetes prize at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and made her…
LIAM NEESON IS AT IT AGAIN IN ‘RETRIBUTION’
Acting careers cannot be charted or predicted; I’ve always thought that the best outcomes are a result of good choices and good luck in roughly equal measure. How the brooding Irish actor Liam Neeson wound up in globe-trotting action…
HELEN MIRREN DISAPPEARS IN ‘GOLDA’
There is no trace of Helen Mirren in Golda, and that’s the way it ought to be. To say that she becomes the fabled Israeli Prime Minister is a mild understatement, but this is no mere stunt of makeup, hairstyling and…
