If only PHANTOM THREAD had been based on real life couture god Charles James. At least the clothes would have been beautiful. Here Daniel Day-Lewis as designer Reynolds Woodcock spends the entire movie needling his seamstresses as they sweat over what look like aproned doilies and lumpy Halloween costumes. OK. A few of [...]
They didn't make my Five Fave Films of 2017 so far, nor are they all the Boston area Film Critics choices, but here’s another batch of films, like cookies for the holidays-- yummy & crummy; some to be savored, some to be consumed guiltily in the dark, and some cookies, well, should be tossed. [...]
It's been another tough year for me at the movies. The swamp of desperately-plotted comedy and superhero sequels clogged with action sludge-- pulled me down, but not out. I hung on until late fall, when the cinematic floodgates opened to release a wave of excellent movies I'm still riding. Â I have not yet seen PHANTOM [...]
It happened this weekend: The BOSTON SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS (of which I am a veteran member) met for the 37th time and voted Paul Thomas Anderson's PHANTOM THREAD (which a significant number of critics have not yet seen) starring Daniel Day-Lewis in his ostensible farewell performance as a fictional couturier, the BEST FILM [...]
A few more SCREEN GRABS in the dog days of summer--and none of the following are dogs: DUNKIRK: If you haven't already, see this masterful and intimate experience of the grueling WWII battle when the Nazis had 400,000 Allied troops-- British, French, and Belgian--trapped on the beach at Dunkirk but they never surrendered; [...]
After combing through the listings of franchise-fatigued superheroes now clogging big screens everywhere, I've come up with a list of well-made, challenging, and engrossing films for folks as sick of vacuous action adventure as I am. Over the next few days I'll write about the following films that left me reeling: BABY DRIVER, THE BIG [...]
In marathon season, after a marathon of coverage including the fictionalized film "Patriots Day" and the documentary play "Finish Line," the latest entry in the reportage of Boston's beloved race comes in first with the last word. My review here reprinted from The ARTery. "Boston" is the first feature length documentary film on [...]
HIDDEN FIGURES brings a hidden gem of a true story to the big screen with a top notch cast in a movie that’s not as groundbreaking as the tale it tells—but accomplishes what it sets out to do with verve, humor, warmth and intelligence. “Hidden Figures” adapted from the book by Margot Lee Shetterly will [...]
         If you're still looking for that perfect gift for someone you love who loves the arts, I am passing along this 2016 Holiday Gift Guide, itself a gift from WBUR's The ARTery writers-- and I am proud to be one! This annual gift guide has several stockings full of suggestions in every discipline [...]
Boston's two film critics' circles (I belong to both) have voted their year end awards! The BOSTON SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS (BSFC) have named "La La Land" starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and directed by Best Director Damien ("Whiplash") Chazelle as BEST PICTURE!  The Boston Online Film Critics Association (BOFCA) has named "Moonlight" BEST PICTURE with Best Ensemble for the magnificent trio [...]
