One day we won't need a FLICKS4CHICKS contest, but you may have perhaps noticed that it keeps raining men at the movies. From macho superheroes and shoot 'em up cop dramas, to frat boy hi-jinks, comedic buddy bromances, and sci-fi adventure films it's mostly men in the drivers' seats, in front of [...]
Where would we be without two-time Best Actress Oscar winner Sally Field and another of her indelible, quirky, wholly committed, utterly endearing performances? One glimpse of Field in the opening sequence as Doris Miller crying at her mother's funeral, wearing cat eye glasses and a big Minnie Mouse bow wrapped around a towering bun of hair-- and she had me at [...]
THE 2016 OSCARS are upon us and I thought I'd weigh in on a few films I'd been mum on-- in case you were wondering for what and whom to root! ROOM: Nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actress, and Adapted Screenplay is a compactly explosive film about a horrifying situation: a young woman kidnapped, impregnated, and kept prisoner by a sexual predator-- and [...]
It's a quiet time of year for movie releases after the blockbusters of summer and the Oscar contenders of fall. It's the perfect time to think "silents." We can't actually hear them sighing in ecstasy, but it isn't hard to imagine from those shimmering "pictures" what was happening on the "silver screen" back in the early days of film when actual silver was [...]
What an intense week. I cannot write anything else before expressing how heartbroken I was to learn that brilliant actor Alan Rickman and musical icon David Bowie died--both Londoners, both at age 69 of cancer. Bowie was an artistic visionary and sonic adventurer who cut an endlessly original and challenging swathe through the musical landscape. We find him [...]
A flurry of fine films has just descended on the big screen in the last few weeks, almost too many to take in; but I did my best and here are my TOP FIVE FILMS of the year, some of which aren't due out until Christmas! 1) THE REVENANT-- A stunning 156 minute saga by award-winning Mexican director Alejandro G. Inarritu (BIRDMAN) starring Leonardo DiCaprio [...]
When I was 7 years old, my unsuspecting parents took me to the drive-in to see the new Hitchcock film: PSYCHO. To this day, shower curtains creep me out. But my love of movies, and Hitchcock, was sealed forever. As we enter awards season and critics' groups weigh in on the best cinematic offerings of the year, it’s the perfect time [...]
THE CRITICS HAVE SPOKEN!! This weekend, the two Boston film critics groups to which I belong announced their 2015 year end awards! So whose picks are closest to yours? Read all the way to the bottom and see if it's MAD MAX or SPOTLIGHT-- and all the rest. Peruse the results and let me know what you think! The [...]
Here's a holiday double feature to be thankful for! The first is a sci-fi adventure franchise that neatly wraps itself up, and the second is a truly artful, old-fashioned romance that may generate a BEST ACTRESS OSCAR nomination! THE HUNGER GAMES:MOCKINGJAY-Part 2 finds Jennifer Lawrence, older and wiser as Katniss Everdeen, the leader of the rebellion in Panem against the cruel President Snow (Donald Sutherland) [...]
ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN free passes to the Fathom Event’s The Met Series 2015 Live and Encore one night events! Enter to win by emailing fathomeventsboston@gmail.com with “(Name of production) & JOYCE’S CHOICES” in the subject line. 5 admit 2 winners will be selected and emailed their complimentary passes! The passes will be valid [...]
