‘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…
MERCHANT IVORY: A UNIQUE LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES
I screened this documentary out of a misplaced sense of duty. After all, the filmmaking team of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory made a number of exceptional films over many years’ time, and Ivory is still going strong at…
MY PENGUIN FRIEND
This utterly likable, disarming film tells a true story about a Magellanic penguin who gets lost—and badly injured—off the coast of Brazil. He is rescued by a simple fisherman (Jean Reno) who is still shaken by the drowning of…
