Indie drama “End of Sentence” is one 2020’s most frustrating movies. And it has nothing to do with the central performances of lead actors John Hawkes and Logan Lerman. They play father and son Frank and Sean Fogle. The mild-mannered Frank is outside the gates to greet the high-strung Sean when he’s released from an […]
For nearly 50 years, the film “Ghost in the Noonday Sun” has lived in infamy. Back in 1973, hot, young British director Peter Medak made this swashbuckling 17th century action comedy. With the legendary Peter Sellers in the starring role and comic partner Spike Milligan also attached, “Ghost” was expected to be a runaway hit. […]
While watching “The Painter and the Thief”, I had to keep reminding myself that this isn’t a narrative film. It’s a documentary — that really doesn’t feel like one. And that’s not just because of the way it’s shot, that there’s no omniscient narrator, or because the timeline keeps jumping back and forth. It’s mainly […]
“Driveways” was filmed a few years ago near my neck of the woods in rural Upstate New York. Hong Chau (who deserved an Oscar nomination for her performance in 2017’s “Downsizing”) stars as single-mom Kathy. She’s studying to be a nurse (doing medical transcriptions to make money) while raising 8-year-old Cody (Lucas Jaye from “Fuller […]
“Spaceship Earth” is not an inside look at the popular Disney World EPCOT attraction. Instead, it’s a documentary on the ground-breaking human science experiment called Biosphere 2. If you lived during the early ‘90s, you may remember Biosphere 2: eight people were quarantined for two years inside a research structure — built in the Arizona […]
“Bad Education” debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last September. At that time it was still seeking a distributor. Many industry analysts predicted the film would be bought-up by a studio looking to, both release it theatrically, and make it immediately eligible for the 2019 awards season. That strategy would’ve complicated things for a […]
This year’s Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films all have something to say — a cause to champion or an issue to put front and center. It’s not the most feel-good collection, but you can find positives in all of them. “Daughter” won the Student Academy Award in 2018. It’s a moving, stop-motion father-daughter story with […]
Taylor Swift is one of the biggest American success stories of this century. Some performers make a big initial splash and gradually fade into the background. Others flash brightly very quickly and then disappear entirely. But Swift has maintained her lofty status as a shining star of American pop culture — through good times and […]
Nicolas Cage has been in a bunch of low-budget action/thriller/horror films in recent years. His latest is a starring role in an adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft short story, “Color Out of Space”. In a Q&A following the screening I attended, Cage said, “Family drama is my favorite genre. Horror is my second.” He told […]
“I Lost My Body” is the year’s most abstract animated feature. And at just 80 minutes, it packs-in as much as depth and emotion as the longer, much more commercial “Toy Story 4”. This story, based on a 2006 book by Guillaume Laurant, is told from the POV of a human hand that’s been separated […]