Category: Film

  • Year by year: My faves of the 1940s

    Periodically in these here parts, I am going to drop my favorite 10 movies decade by decade. It’s among my compulsions, for better or worse. Thank you for humoring me. 1940: 10. All This, and Heaven Too, director: Anatole Litvak9. The Thief of Bagdad, director: Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell & Tim Whelan8. The Letter, director:…

  • Valley Girl (1983)

    For that segment of the population that doesn’t remember a time before email and social media, the 1980s have the haze of nostalgia, a romanticism borne from snappy oddities like skinny ties, checkered sneakers and Andrew McCarthy. But don’t believe it, youngsters. It wasn’t all lollipops and John Hughes. Not even the syrupy gaze 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…

  • Your Sister’s Sister (2011)

    Your Sister’s Sister is a revelation in which low-budget indie meets comedy of the masses. Written and directed by Lynn Shelton, the 2011 picture marked another milestone in what was then the ongoing mainstreaming of “mumblecore,” a quasi-film movement characterized by improvisation, modest production values and, all too often, undisciplined notions of storytelling. But Shelton,…

  • 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…

  • West of Memphis (2012)

    Critics of our criminal justice system don’t have to search for nightmare scenarios of wrongful convictions. From coerced confessions to exonerations through DNA testing, the past several decades are rife with tales of injustice that would have given Kafka the willies. It says something about the horrific saga of the West Memphis Three that their…

  • Disturbia (2007)

    Disturbia isn’t a great thriller, or even a very memorable one, but this compact little flick delivers some thrills, injects humor and visual flair, and boasts an appealing performance from Shia LaBeouf. Such positives help compensate for what winds up a disappointing abundance of genre clichés.  LaBeouf is Kale Brecht, a smart and likeable 17-year-old going…