Academy Award winner Kate Winslet stars in “Lee” as photojournalist Lee Miller, who covered WWII, primarily for Vogue. There’s some occasional humanity to Winslet’s performance. Andy Samberg, in a rare dramatic role, is very good as fellow photojournalist David Scherman. I could see Samberg (best known for “Saturday Night Live”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and a bunch […]
“Ammonite” is the story of 19th century British fossil collector and paleontologist Mary Anning. She runs a tourist shop in Dorset, Southwest England, with her elderly mother. But her passion is searching for rare rocks and marine fossils in the cliffs along the English Channel. Her discoveries have made her famous in the collector community. […]
Director Roger Michell has tackled a variety of topics in his films: movie star romance (“Notting Hill”), TV news (“Morning Glory”), FDR’s fascination with hot dogs (“Hyde Park on Hudson”) and now… assisted suicide. “Blackbird” is a remake of the 2014 Danish film “Silent Heart”. Susan Sarandon plays Lily. She’s a wife and mother for […]
What can Woody Allen do to bring new life to the ol’ Woody Allen formula? In “Wonder Wheel”, Allen sets his latest romance against the backdrop of NY’s Coney Island in the 1950s. The film opens startlingly, with Justin Timberlake talking directly to us. And we soon realize that Allen has structured “Wonder Wheel” as […]
I was one of only a few critics who genuinely appreciated “Jobs”, the 2013 biopic on legendary Apple CEO Steve Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher. A little more than two years later, Hollywood tackles the complicated mind of one of the most fascinating technological pioneers of all-time yet again with “Steve Jobs”. And this time they’ve […]
Based on the novel by Joyce Maynard, “Labor Day” is a romantic, suspense drama written and directed by Jason Reitman (“Up in the Air”). It’s a tricky film to analyze and appreciate because, while it has several strong qualities, there are many critical flaws. Fortunately, the performances and emotional impact outweigh some absolutely ridiculous plot […]