This was a strange year for movies. I could barely find a thing to watch all summer, and then was inundated with a flood of excellent features in the Fall. No one mainstream film commanded our attention, but smaller, isolated gems shown brightly on a far-flung horizon. ONE of these for me stood far above the rest. Herewith my top five films, in no particular order AFTER my favorite film [...]
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 [...]
The story of Kitty Genovese, a young woman who was stabbed to death in NYC over 50 years ago while 38 people did nothing-- still haunts us. But that's not what really happened. Nevertheless, that horrifying tale of urban apathy reverberated through a family, branded a neighborhood, indicted the media, tore a hole in our innocence, and embedded [...]
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 [...]
This summer at the movies sucks. I normally despise that expression but it accurately describes the vacuum that is this summer's movie season. Underwhelming fare is now playing on mainstream screens everywhere, and I am searching like crazy for things I want to see. Here's what I don't want to see: --NEWSCASTERS playing themselves on the big screen and then complaining about [...]
What can you say about a man named Weiner who's famous for exposing his penis to the world? All the jokes have been made, but this film is no joke. It's a real close up, unadorned look at the man behind the appendage, with the caveat that I and you as watchers are all part of his [...]
These young musicians from Japan have arrived in Boston and have made the most beautiful music out of a catastrophe, wringing hope out of disaster through the power of art. LISTEN and WATCH. Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta - Music from Fukushima in Boston - from The Japan Society of Boston on Vimeo. The Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta, [...]
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 [...]
