I watched the movie Happily written and directed by BenDavid Grabinski Friday and then had the joy of watching City Lights written and directed by Charlie Chaplin for two nights straight. And now you already know which was the DOY! as in the DUMB of the two films. To be fair BenDavid (a tellingly ridiculous… Continue reading Doy! Vs. Joy, Take a Guess Which Decade Did Film Better
Category: dark comedy
The Twentieth Century, Oh Canada! Air Kiss!
The Twentieth Century is a satire that makes getting older a breeze…why you ask? Because I learn more about former my upstairs neighbor (me-Rochester, them-Canada). Who knew they had a famous prime minister (or any prime minister) named Mackenzie King who lacked charisma, but made up for that in spades in eccentricity. If you happened… Continue reading The Twentieth Century, Oh Canada! Air Kiss!
Let Them All Talk
Meryl Streep’s political sourness had turned me off for a bit, as well as the quality of roles she was choosing…not sure which came first the chicken or the egg, and yet she is the same woman who in August Osage County, I came to tears thinking, I don’t want this woman (acting GOAT) to… Continue reading Let Them All Talk
The Climb, Placing My Oscar Bet on Zach Kuperstein
Ok, that bet I just posted in my title, I’d like to place it to happen in the next ten years, since the ye olde Academy has enough fish to fry for awhile. But mark my words, they’ll see the genius of Zach Kuperstein (already nominated for a Independent Spirit (the smartest) Awards for The… Continue reading The Climb, Placing My Oscar Bet on Zach Kuperstein
Now this is the Jenkins I Know: The Last Shift
Before “Kajillionaire”, I never suspected Richard Jenkins of any acting fraud. And with “The Last Shift”, which was suppose to be premiered before Covid took out the Sarasota Film Festival, Jenkins is back, possibly in his best role yet. In The Last Shift his character is once again, down and out and awkward, but with… Continue reading Now this is the Jenkins I Know: The Last Shift
Wiener-Dog; Solondz Always Worth a Little Darkness
You need to buck up when you watch Tood Solondz. Prepare to be disturbed at some point in each of his films…maybe most disturbing was Happiness (but to see Philip Seymour Hoffman in his prime, again, worth it!!). In Wiener-Dog we get snapshots of four stories detailing the lives of at least three different dachshunds.… Continue reading Wiener-Dog; Solondz Always Worth a Little Darkness
At the Urging of…Art School Confidential
The Book Store has always been a source for movie recommendations, from classics Barry Rothman hipped me to (Sweet Smell of Success to name one) to modern ones, from James Mammone (Ghost Story) and one from my Curb Your Enthusiasm compatriot Carrie from 2006 (Art School Confidential) when I was knee deep in teaching and… Continue reading At the Urging of…Art School Confidential
Genuinely Great: Downhill
Wow, Rotten Tomatoes Reviewers, take it down a notch. I feel like yesterday I was guilty of whining, yet I don’t see a lot of other folks being as self-aware. Both in my personal life and in movie criticism there’s a lot of hair trigger condemnatory folks walking around. When we read a Facebook or… Continue reading Genuinely Great: Downhill
Murder She Wrote was Only an Hour Long for a Reason: Knives Out
Here’s where the easily entertained American Public wins the ratings war: “Knives Out” scored a higher Rotten Tomatoes audience review than Bombshell. Enough said. I had higher hopes than normal about a movie like Knives Out after hearing over and over that Rian Johnson really brought something novel to the murder mystery genre. Something novel… Continue reading Murder She Wrote was Only an Hour Long for a Reason: Knives Out
JoJo Rabbit: An Overly Frosted Carrot Cake
JoJo Rabbit directed and adapted to screenplay by Taika Waititi is like a good friend who you love dearly, but always goes too far with a joke. Charlie Chaplin knew the fine art of subtlety in the Great Dictator. Sure, mock the Fuhrer, but do so in such a way that it doesn’t make mockery… Continue reading JoJo Rabbit: An Overly Frosted Carrot Cake