Category: Drama

  • The Social Network (2010)

    As the boy wonder who invented Facebook in 2004, Mark Zuckerberg was the world’s youngest-ever, self-made billionaire. He was also, at least according to The Social Network, a bona fide genius whose brilliance was matched by a cruelty borne of insecurity and resentment. And this deeply ambivalent portrait of Zuckerberg was in 2010, predating what…

  • Capote (2005)

    Truly great acting is always thrilling to see, but it reaches a different level of accomplishment when the performance is of a real-life icon. Such is the case with Capote. Philip Seymour Hoffman more than earned his Best Actor Oscar as the late author Truman Capote. The actor, arguably the best of his generation, transcends…

  • The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

    In its tale of death and loyalty along the U.S.-Mexico border, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada bears similarities to the great westerns of John Ford. Like that masterful storyteller, director Tommy Lee Jones (in his big-screen directorial debut) and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga revel in the splendor of nature and the small, lyrical moments of…

  • Another Year (2010)

    Nothing much happens in Mike Leigh films, at least not in the strictest sense of Plot Mechanics 101. There are no car chases or explosions, not even a juicy epiphany in the final reel. The British writer-director is seeking something else. In emotionally rich films like Secrets & Lies and Topsy-Turvy, he explores the complexities…

  • 127 Hours (2010)

    Man-versus-nature tales don’t get much more harrowing than the real-life one involving Aron Ralston. You aren’t likely to recognize the name, but you might know the incident that made him famous. In May 2003, Ralston was mountain climbing in a remote section of Utah when a boulder crushed his right hand and wrist. Trapped for…

  • 2023 Mother’s Day movies: Beau Is Afraid & Evil Dead Rise

    For all those celebrating Mother’s Day this weekend, I recently caught up with two pictures currently in theaters that would offer an interesting double feature for the occasion … provided you have an ambivalent relationship with that poor woman who went through labor for you, who scrimped and saved every penny for you to go…

  • Little Children (2006)

    Weaving a tapestry of marital strain, infidelity and the difficulties of parenthood, Little Children is a scathingly honest critique of suburban manners that never sacrifices its humanity for satire. Director Todd Field‘s follow-up to his excellent 2001 melodrama, In the Bedroom, the film is a rarity: caustic without crossing over into cruelty, affecting without resorting to cheap…

  • The Visitor (2007)

    Richard Jenkins is one of those character actors you see often, and often take for granted. If there is one great thing about indie films (and, for the record, there are a number of great things about them), it’s the opportunity for criminally overlooked thespians of a certain age or look to shine in leading…