Screen
America at a crossroads and Bob Dylan on tour
In 1975, the U.S. was at a crossroads. The Vietnam War was over, and Americans were more disillusioned than ever. Big cities out east,...
‘The Hateful Eight’ is pointless, stupid garbage
Say this much for writer/director/foot fetishist/N-word-addict Quentin Tarantino when he finally made his first bad movie: he made one of the worst films ever....
The children of Marx and Coca-Cola
It was the 1960s, and revolution was in the air. For French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, cinema was the way to express ideas artistic, political...
‘A picture with a smile — and perhaps, a tear’
Like it or not, artists change. Though we wish to preserve them in amber, those we hold near and dear grow into individuals that...
Majestical or just majestic?
Family units are fascinating things. Some come ready-made, while others must be forged out of sheer will. That’s what Ricky (Julian Dennison) is hoping...
Let them talk
It’s about time. For conductor Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), time is her job. Her right hand “starts the clock,” while her left shapes the...
Ghost stories
According to the new documentary, Chasing the Shadows (chasingtheshadows.com), one-third of Americans believe in ghosts and more people in the United Kingdom believe in ghosts than believe in God. With many ghost-hunting reality shows, like Ghost Hunters on Syfy, ...
Home viewing: Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations
Both born at the end of the 19th century, Arthur Stanley Jefferson (Stan Laurel) and Oliver Norvell Hardy (“Babe” to friends and family), found...
When talent and influence aren’t enough
Everyday Sunshine tells the sometimes tragic, often-funny story of Fishbone, a band from Los Angeles that influenced many, yet never found a way to mainstream success...
‘Red Cliff’ a rare war movie invested in strategy
Red Cliff is the first Chinese-language film from John Woo in more than a decade, and reportedly the most expensive Chineselanguage movie ever made (though, once you see its Lord of the Rings-like immensity, that “reportedly” becomes “oh, totally”). It is two-and-...
Lust at 6,000 feet
Movies aren’t reality. They’re visual expressions of an emotional experience. The best filmmakers have known this all along, but it’s worth bringing up, as...
