Tag: Drama

  • Prince of the City (1981)

    Although Sidney Lumet’s Prince of the City hit movie theaters in 1981, its deliberate pace, brooding vibe and moral ambivalence place it squarely in line with the director’s string of 1970s-era masterworks that included Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon and Network. Based on a 1978 nonfiction book by Robert Daley, Prince of the City changes names and times, but it essentially…

  • The Tree of Life (2011)

    Not many pictures are so flat-out ballsy as to interrupt its principal narrative in order to reveal the origin of the cosmos. But Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life does just that. This coming-of-age story is ambitious and audacious, bold and bewildering. It is 2001 with a Texas twang. It is amazing. That doesn’t mean…

  • The Hustler (1961)

    The Hustler is a straightforward morality play, but told with a lean intensity that pushes it into the realm of classic cinema. It helped that the 1961 picture featured a slew of great acting performances, particularly a superstar-making turn by Paul Newman. Based on a 1959 novel by Walter Tevis, The Hustler follows Fast Eddie…

  • 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…

  • 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…