Category: coming of age

Worth a Mention at 50: American Graffiti

In spite of warnings that American Graffiti was a lame early George Lucas production, I ventured forth, knowing my Mom who grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s of which the story is set, would at least appreciate the time travel. And of course, I’ll show my bias for all the 1970 movie stars, most… Continue reading Worth a Mention at 50: American Graffiti

No Hard Feelings: Bringin’ Back the Bawdy

Gene Stupnitsky (Picture Groucho Marx with a cigar saying, “With a last name like that you’ve got to have a sense of humor”) and John Phillips wrote No Hard Feelings with the former (Stupnitsky) directing the movie. They worked together on The Office and Stupnitsky also wrote and directed Bad Teacher, another guilty pleasure of… Continue reading No Hard Feelings: Bringin’ Back the Bawdy

EveryBOGEY Loves Raymond: Somewhere in Queens

SOMEWHERE IN QUEENS (Directed and co-written by Ray Romano) was a feast of acting by Laurie Metcalf, Ray Romano, Jennifer Esposito and Sebastion Maniscalpo. Romano possesses a sad eyed handsome Bogart mystique and you can’t help but love him, hence EveryBOGEY Loves Raymond. My hope is for him to receive a few award nominations. He’s… Continue reading EveryBOGEY Loves Raymond: Somewhere in Queens

Aftersun: Blinded By the Sights

Ok, I’m still trying to grasp the multiple awards for which Aftersun has won and been nominated. While story telling gurus advise writers to show don’t tell, Charlotte Wells may have taken this too far. I appreciate avant garde cinematography (Gregory Oke), but unless you give the audience a little more context, we’re more mystified… Continue reading Aftersun: Blinded By the Sights

Kicking and Screaming: Catherine Called Birdy

I dragged myself through the first third of Lena Dunham’s Independent Spirit Award nominated Screenplay Catherine Called Birdy. I loved Girls up until the last season and have either loved or hated Dunham’s antics over the years. Odd upbringings make for creative geniuses (Safdies, Robert Downey Jr) and Dunham (psychiatrist and artists as parents) is… Continue reading Kicking and Screaming: Catherine Called Birdy

The Cathedral: Brilliant, Haunting and Heady

Deciding to shift down from the Thanksgiving/Birthday Go Go Go, I decided to take in an at home film nominated for the 2023 Independent Spirit Awards. After all, these are the folks that acknowledged Uncut Gems, Red Rocket and Zola. The Cathedral, written and directed by Ricky D’Ambrose is a former winner at the Sarasota… Continue reading The Cathedral: Brilliant, Haunting and Heady

The Fabelmans, Adults are Overrated

I think this every holiday season: without children, we don’t need the traditional celebrations. If I was Queen, I’d say screw the turkey and save the Christmas (Or Hanukkah) gift money and let’s do an activity; philanthropic donations and bowling perhaps. I say this to introduce how I felt about The Fablemans, directed by Steven… Continue reading The Fabelmans, Adults are Overrated

Where the Crawdads Sing: the summer of grumpy critics

Post Script Preface: Email me with comments at irun2eatpizza@hotmail.com I’ve tried for many moons to use the “I’m a Human Capctha with zero success (call me a techno-dunce), HENCE, my email works! I’m upping my score to a 70% after thinking of the adorable little girl who plays the young Kya, Jojo Regina. Kids are… Continue reading Where the Crawdads Sing: the summer of grumpy critics

The Souvenir: Part II; My Kind of Paint Drying

The Souvenir Part 2 was as equally mystifying yet engrossing as the first film by Joanna Hog. Precautions: Don’t even try it though if you haven’t seen the first one as you won’t know what the heck is happening. If you have any a.d.d. tendencies, either take a Valium or wait until you happen to… Continue reading The Souvenir: Part II; My Kind of Paint Drying