COLLECTIVE: A RIVETING DOCU-THRILLER
When a so-called documentary has you gasping at one moment and on the edge of your seat the next, you know it’s exceptional. Alexander Nanau’s Collective, from Romania, is just such a film. The title comes from the name…
CURIOSITY IS THE KEY
At a time when many of us are searching for something good to watch at home, I’d like to recommend a handful of films from off the beaten path. The only thing they have in common is that I…
THE FATHER: FACING THE INEVITABLE
Many of us have already dealt with the painful result of a parent or loved one who has dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease; many more of us will have to face this reality in the years ahead. Playwright Florian Zeller…
DEAR COMRADES! IS A COLD WAR MASTERPIECE
Andrei Konchalovsky has one of the most eclectic resumés of any contemporary filmmaker, ranging from historical epics like Andrei Rublev and such homegrown classics as Uncle Vanya (costarring the great Soviet actor-director Sergei Bondarchuk) to a Sylvester Stallone vehicle (Tango & Cash) and Runaway Train, which might…
‘COMING 2 AMERICA’ DELIVERS THE LAUGHS
There’s never a good time for a bad sequel, and goodness knows we’ve seen plenty. But Coming 2 America manages to revive the central characters from Eddie Murphy’s 1988 megahit with surprisingly good results. Murphy remains a comedic force to reckon…
THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY
The more you know about legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday the more trouble you’re likely to have digesting Lee Daniels’s punishing new biopic. While it is less fictitious than the glossy 1972 Diana Ross movie Lady Sings the Blues, it remains…
NOMADLAND: WORTH WAITING FOR
Filmmaker Chloé Zhao opens Nomadland on a tight closeup of Fern’s face—a woman we might chance to meet any day of the week. Because she is played by Frances McDormand there is no better way to establish a connection between her…
