In My Only Great Passion, the definitive biography of Carl Theodor Dreyer, Jean and Dale D. Drum devote approximately eight pages to dismissing Michael as “melodramatic” and “bereft of the… Continue reading "Michael (Dreyer, 1924)"
It is hard to know whether Judd Apatow grew up or I did. Once upon a time — 2007 to be precise — I found his portraits of aged but… Continue reading "The King of Staten Island (Apatow, 2020)"
America has been sheltering at home for a few weeks now, waiting for an excuse to return its attention to the movies while studios hold back their biggest titles to… Continue reading "Shirley (Decker, 2020)"
How to Build a Girl is the sort of film that allows you to write 90% of your review of it simply by making positive or negative comparisons to other… Continue reading "How to Build a Girl (Giedroyc, 2019)"
Wendy is an immigration officer working in the U.K. Daily, she listens to the stories of desperate refugees and determines their fate. Do they stay, or do they return? She… Continue reading "The Flood (Woodley, 2019)"
There are two potential documentaries here kicking one another like fraternal twins in a womb, each hoping to emerge first. One is a rather easy to follow allegation of gender… Continue reading "Beyond the Visible — Hilma af Klint (Dyrschka, 2019)"
I will put my disclosures up front rather than as postscripts. My father was one of 52 American hostages in Tehran from 1979-81. He taught me to respect the military… Continue reading "Desert One (Kopple, 2019)"
There are things that you know — in your head, intellectually — that still hit you hard when you are confronted with them in reality rather than merely as abstractions.… Continue reading "Streetlight Harmonies (Wilson, 2020)"
One element of any great work of art is that it always provides something new, something more to see, when you return to it. What impressed me most about New’s… Continue reading "Poetry in America — Season 2"
I watched Hooking Up what seems like a lifetime ago, but my e-mail tells me that it was just last week. The plan was to make recommendations for the socially… Continue reading "Hooking Up (Raineau, 2020)"
