LUCE is less a film than a political dialectic on race and class in these United States, and a brilliant, exquisitely performed one at that. Told with a deliberate, sometimes maddening ambiguity, it challenges the audience at every turn about where the truth lies, and the limits of familial loyalty. By the end, not every… Read More »
SPIDERMAN: FAR FROM HOME
We learn many things in SPIDERMAN FAR FROM HOME. We learn that not only are the Dutch polyglots, but also that they are the nicest people on earth, even when a private jet is making hash of their iconic tulip fields. We learn that saving the planet is just as important as getting that first… Read More »
GIANT LITTLE ONES
GIANT LITTLE ONES is a perceptive, intelligent examination of what happens when unexpected feelings and actions don’t have neat labels. In a time when acceptance of teenage sexuality, at least straight sexuality, has become the norm for most concerned, both parents and their sexually active kids, the question of sexual fluidity can still flummox.
AS YOU ARE — Miles Joris-Peyrafitte Interview
Mile Joris-Peyrafitte was only 23 when he made AS YOU ARE, and that was the first thing I brought up when we spoke by phone on February 22, 2017. This deeply affecting story, about three high school friends, two young men and a young woman, confronting volatile and confusing situations has a visual assurance and… Read More »
LAZER TEAM
LAZER TEAM is a cheerfully cheesy homage to great and not-so-great sci-fi movies of days gone by. With a goofy sense of humor, a droll use of irony, and whipsmart comedic instincts, it tells the time-honored tale of misfits finding the greatness within themselves, while also saving the earth from evil alien invaders. It takes as… Read More »
HAMLET 2
Where do dreams go to die? That’s the question posed at the beginning of HAMLET 2, a comedy about the triumph of enthusiasm over talent. The answer to that question is Tucson, Arizona, at least for Dana Marschz, a spectacularly untalented actor turned equally untalented drama teacher at a high school there. Driven from a… Read More »
THE DUFF Rules
There are, to be sure, the usual tropes of high school angst and triumph to be found in THE DUFF, based on the book by Kody Keplinger, but this is a film distinguished by sprightly, intelligent writing, and outstanding performances that are not just funny, but also perceptive and nuanced. Except for the high school… Read More »
BRICK
There is in seeing Rian Johnson’s neo-noir, BRICK, the sense that this is not just a startlingly original, wholly engrossing, and brilliantly plotted piece of work. There is the sense that it is nothing less than a flawless masterpiece made all the more remarkable for being Johnson’s maiden cinematic effort. The idioms of the noir… Read More »
For Tom McCarthy, it’s WIN WIN
Tom McCarthy returned to his hometown of Provinctown, N.J., for WIN WIN, his third film as a writer/director. The story of a lawyer on the verge of a financial meltdown who makes a rash and unethical choice also gave him the opportunity to revist his favorite high school sport: wrestling. A working actor with a… Read More »
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and BRICK
BRICK cements Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s transition from kid comedy star to serious adult actor, though, for those with long memories, he was doing some excellent work as his generation’s designated “creepy kid” before signing up for the absurdist shenanigans of “Third Rock from the Sun.” When I spoke with Gordon-Levitt on February 10, 2005, the conversation turned… Read More »