From Here to Eternity is a bit of a soap-opera, but at its center is a character who has to stand firm in the face of immense social pressure--pressure that escalates to physical torture and threatens not only his peace of mind, but his life.
There's a pervasive sameness to movies these days. Sure there are pockets of exception: festivals and awards season. Summer is starting earlier and earlier. May is not even over and we've already had three comic book movies, with a fourth opening next week. In such a climate, live theater offers an increasingly attractive alternative. And given that more and more movie theaters are raising prices and studios are needlessly rendering two-star action movies into 3D in order to charge a premium, the cost differential isn't always that great.
"For me," he said, "it is above all a moral standpoint from which to view the world. Afterwards it becomes an aesthetic standpoint, but the point of departure is definitely moral."
Jesus, you just won't believe the hit you've made around here. You are all we talk about, the wonder of the year. Oh what a pity if it's all a lie. Still, I'm sure that you can rock the cynics if you tried.
It’s morning in Manhattan and the legion of the city’s models rise. They dress in a beautiful catalog of lingerie, skirts and stilettos and open their cabinets full of luxury makeup and eyeliner. When they hail taxis with cutting precision, they clutch their designer purses in their other arms. All of this opening scene takes place to the sound of KT Tunstall 2005 pop hit, “Suddenly I See,” which is perhaps a little too on the mark. We hear lyrics like, “She’s a beautiful girl / and everything around her is a silver pool of light,” and “Suddenly I see / This is what I want to be,” and we can’t help but wonder if The Devil Wears Prada will be 109 minutes of glorifying the fashion industry.
By any standard, Room is a film full of meaning. But compared to the other contenders for Best Picture, including Spotlight, The Big Short and The Revenant, Room possesses a singularly ambitious vision.
The sheer spectacle of Fury Road is almost on the scale of grand opera; it's dominated and driven forward by form and design.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its nominees for the Oscars this week. With the exception of the omission of Todd Haynes’s Carol (a film I… Continue reading "My Best Picture Choice: Spotlight"
GLBTQ Movies Have Become More Prevalent at Festivals -- Will Mainstream Audiences Ever Embrace Them?
I initially planned to balance my selection among different types of films, but then I realized the films that really help me feel better in dark times are offbeat comedies and tragic cautionary tales.
