A REAL PAIN
Jesse Eisenberg has nothing to prove; he has already staked his claim as an actor, writer, and director. But A Real Pain digs deeper than he ever has before; even the film’s title has multiple meanings. The movie simmers and occasionally…
BOGART: LIFE COMES IN FLASHES
My all time favorite film is Casablanca, so it shouldn’t come as a complete surprise that my favorite actor from Hollywood’s golden age is Humphrey Bogart. A new feature length documentary is about to debut called Bogart: Life comes…
‘CONCLAVE’ IS GRIPPING
The election of a new pope is one of the world’s most recognizable rituals. Conclave spins its tale with confidence because director Edward Berger and screenwriter Peter Straughan (adapting Robert Harris’s novel) know that we in the world outside the…
ANORA: THE LATEST FROM SEAN BAKER
Sean Baker is one of the brightest and most original filmmakers of his generation. He rates a place in cinematic history for being the first professional to shoot a feature film on an iPhone. That was Tangerine, which was set…
FOLIE INDEED: THIS TIME THE JOKE IS ON US
What a waste! The only folie (or delusion) in Joker: Folie à Deux is believing that I want to spend quality time with Arthur Fleck, the pathetic figure first played by Joaquin Phoenix in 2019. This time, he meets his…
I’M JUST WILD ABOUT ‘THE WILD ROBOT’
I no longer feel an imperative to see and review every animated feature that comes along, but Chris Sanders’ The Wild Robot is exceptional in every way. It embraces a wide range of emotions and somehow manages to keep cynicism at bay.…
THE CRITIC
Any film bearing that title and Ian McKellen in the leading role holds the promise of good entertainment, even the possibility of greatness. Add to that the credentials of the writer, Patrick Marber (Closer, Notes on a Scandal), director…
