FILM REVIEW – HARRIET

Let’s begin at the end. “Harriet” is an overwhelmingly impressive film and one that deserves attention, discussion and appreciation across a wide audience.  Kasi Lemmons’ directing is sure, imaginative and unyielding.  The life of Harriet Tubman, played by Cynthia Erivo with almost frightening force, compassion and depth, is a complex story of the obscenity of slavery […]

By |2020-01-28T14:31:59-05:00November 3rd, 2019|Movie Reviews|

FILM REVIEW – WESTERN STARS

There was an awkward moment in the darkened theater as the last notes of “Hitch Hikin’” reverberated in Bruce Springsteen’s New Jersey barn as the opening salvo of his concert film/autobiographical exploration “Western Stars” started the journey through his newest album of the same name.

Several members of the attentive audience began to applaud … then […]

By |2020-01-28T14:33:34-05:00October 26th, 2019|Movie Reviews|

FILM REVIEW – THE LAUNDROMAT

The film begins calmly enough. It’s a lovely autumn day and a group of vacationers are taking a guided tour on Lake George. A rogue wave. A series of painful funerals. “The Laundromat” has just begun to unveil what personal tragedy can look like … all in pursuit of the “almighty dollar.”

Steven Soderbergh is no […]

By |2020-01-28T14:35:06-05:00October 19th, 2019|Movie Reviews|

FILM REVIEW – ABOMINABLE

This film may be a welcome relief from the “adult” fare that is populating theaters as the ramp up to “OSCAR Season” continues.  If the intended audience is a bit too young for “Joker” and unenthused by the prospect of 2 hours of “Downton Abbey,” then “Abominable” may just be the outing you’re looking […]

By |2020-01-28T14:36:07-05:00October 7th, 2019|Movie Reviews|

FILM REVIEW – JOKER

The title character’s performance is magical.  Oscar-worthy. Mesmerizing.

The cinematography by Lawrence Sher presents the gritty, hard-edged beauty of New York City in rich detail.

The musical score by Icelandic composer Hildur Guonadottir elevates the role of the cello to full stardom.

But, “Joker” is a movie without a soul.

The “tent pole” film from Warner Brothers is an unabashed […]

By |2021-07-29T11:30:53-04:00October 4th, 2019|Movie Reviews|

FILM REVIEW – AD ASTRA

“Ad Astra,” currently in wide release, is as much about the vastness of inner space as it is about the vastness of outer space.  Brad Pitt, who stars as Roy McBride, astronaut son of a legendary astronaut father (Tommy Lee Jones) is chosen for, rejected, then commandeers his way back into a mission to seek […]

By |2020-01-28T14:37:41-05:00September 24th, 2019|Movie Reviews|

FILM REVIEW – DOWNTON ABBEY

There are clearly two audiences for what the producers’ publicists have dubbed “The Downton Abbey Motion Picture Event.” And, an event it is.

The first audience is most predictable. For those who immersed themselves in the intrigues, fortunes and failures of the aristocratic Crawley family through five seasons of “Downton Abbey” on PBS, it is a […]

By |2021-07-29T11:31:05-04:00September 13th, 2019|Movie Reviews|
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