The first few minutes of this documentary are a tribute to discretion: a montage of talking heads who refuse to talk--and as Diana Vreeland once said, "elegance is refusal." The very fact of this documentary verges on the indiscreet, but I forgave the indiscretion and am thrilled to have had a peek. This is a [...]
In one of the more entertaining Oscar nomination ceremonies in recent memory, Andy Serkis and Tiffany Haddish announced the nominations for the 90th Annual OSCARS this morning from California. THE SHAPE OF WATER lead with 13 nominations. By my calculation, there were a few flubs, snubs, & surprises: --Spielberg was snubbed as Best Director for [...]
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 [...]
I have been beyond bored with movies this season. THOR still dominates the box office and is playing on 3 screens at my local multiplex. Just not excited about the god of thunder or comedy sequels: DADDY'S HOME 2 (second place at the box office) or A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS both featuring intergenerational hi-jinks at [...]
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; [...]
Happy summer one and all! A pro-LONG-ed bout of pneumonia and a vacation abroad has kept me away from my website for awhile-- but I'm back up to speed with a slew of movies over the next few days and some "must-see" theater to recommend. Today I begin with the WOODS HOLE FILM FESTIVAL about [...]
I recently took part in Women Writer's week at RogerEbert.com and revisited BABY BOOM starring Diane Keaton--30 years later. I was thrilled to join all of the site's women reviewers highlighted that week, and once again became acutely aware of how few women's critical voices are heard in the world. The field of movie and theater criticism remains, like so many fields, [...]
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 [...]
Hold onto your hats-- and your eardrums-- and prepare to laugh yourself silly!! Meryl Streep does it again, this time in a bravura "comedia-tura" performance as a real life "coloratura-challenged" heiress with a passion for grand opera, but no talent: FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS. Stephen Frears once again turns his attention to a strong female character [...]
The Woods Hole Film Festival kicks off its 25th anniversary season on July 30 and not a moment too soon. In one of the worst summer movie seasons in recent memory, this 8-day festival (July 30-August 6) on Cape Cod has come to the rescue, bigger and better than ever! Over 130 films will be shown representing more than [...]
