The Business of Film and Entertainment
Written by: Victoria Alexander
There was no script, the cast was comatose and sitting through it was agony. Focus Features spent all the money on theater standees. With the cast and the hallowed Jim Jarmusch writing and directing (STRANGER THAN PARADISE, which everyone refers … Continue reading
Written by: Victoria Alexander
The homoerotic farewell to what the X-MEN has really been about – the unresolved passion between Xavier and Magneto. The competition between the Marvel and DC superheroes has stalled at Everest’s Base Camp 4. Who will get to the top … Continue reading
Written by: Victoria Alexander
A brilliant joy. An astonishing rich, and indulgently fearless, curated life knitted beautifully together by director and star. It’s got my Best Director, Best Actor nomination slots locked down. Since February 2004, Elton and his band have performed 450 shows … Continue reading
Written by: Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Leto (Kirill Serebrennikov, 2018) 2½ out of 4 stars. A somewhat film, albeit a strange one to be given an American release, Kirill Serebrennikov’s Leto(the title means “summer” in Russian) tells the highly specific story (in terms of time and … Continue reading
Written by: Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Trial by Fire (Edward Zwick, 2018) 2½ out of 4 stars. Trial by Fire, from director Edward Zwick (Jack Reacher: Never Go Back) is the kind of film that trolls for your sympathy through rich veins of sentiment that mask … Continue reading
Written by: Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Fast Color (Julia Hart, 2019) 3 out of 4 stars. Though it suffers from some confused world-building, Julia Hart’s Fast Color remains, throughout, an engaging meditation on identity and empowerment. The film follows a trio of women – three generations of a single … Continue reading
Written by: Rob Goald, Senior Editor
The Cheerful Subversive’s Guide to INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING By Dan Mirvish Routledge/Taylor & Francis A Focal Press Book New York 2017 Learning how to produce ultra-low-budget feature films is a demanding and complicated task. Even earning a bachelor’s degree in Film, … Continue reading
Written by: Christopher Llewellyn Reed
In Lower Manhattan, bordered on the west by the Hudson River, the east by Broadway, the north by Canal Street, and on the south by the World Trade Center site, lies the neighborhood known as Tribeca (formerly spelled “TriBeCa,” each … Continue reading
Written by: Stan Popovich
Many celebrities deal with the pressures of Hollywood on a regular basis. Here are some suggestions on how to manage the stresses and anxieties of dealing with peer pressure when working in Hollywood. 1. Know Where You Stand. Ask yourself … Continue reading
Late Night (Nisha Ganatra, 2019) 3 out of 4 stars. From writer/star Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project) comes a charming, if uneven, new comedy, Late Night, about the lone female late-night talk-show host whose time in the spotlight may be … Continue reading
Men in Black: International (F. Gary Gray, 2019) 2½ out of 4 stars. Back in 2012, the keepers of the Men in Black cinematic franchise served up a delicious third course for the series, largely making up for the less inspired … Continue reading
Booksmart (Olivia Wilde) 3½ out of 4 stars. Among the line of popular coming of age stories that have been circulating through our cinemas over the last few years, Booksmart stands out for its playfully raunchy approach of redefining what … Continue reading
The Hustle (Chris Addison) 1 out of 4 stars. For every middle of the road studio comedy film, there is one uninspired, unfunny, unwatchable pre-summer flick that makes you question whether this could be the very end of cinema. This … Continue reading
The Secret Life of Pets 2 (Jonathan del Val/Chris Renaud, 2019) 2 out of 4 stars. I’m always hesitant to review a sequel. As a critic, you want to do your job of critiquing an artist’s work with as much … Continue reading
Plus One (Jeff Chan/Andrew Rhymer, 2019) 3½ out of 4 stars. Anyone worried about the state of romantic comedies should take heart at the release of Plus One, a delightful concoction from writer-directors Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer, making their … Continue reading
The Dead Don’t Die (Jim Jarmusch, 2019) 2½ out of 4 stars. Jim Jarmusch’s latest oddball of a film, The Dead Don’t Die, features the director’s trademark nonchalance and idiosyncratic dialogue, as well as something new (for him): zombies. It’s … Continue reading
One Millennial. One Baby Boomer. Two totally different perspectives. Perspectives that cross not only generations – but styles, tastes, passions, interests, and impressions. The duo offers you impressions of not just films, but of the film makers, film festivals, new trends … Continue reading
First to the Moon (Paul J. Hildebrandt, 2018) 3½ out of 4 stars. What a marvelous cinematic year it has been for America’s once-great space program! Since October, 2018. we have seen four films about two Apollo missions, #8 and … Continue reading
