Driveways Judas and the Black Messiah Never Rarely Sometimes Always Sound of Metal Pieces of a Woman Minari Forty Year-Old Version The Life Ahead Another Round The Last Shift The Father One Night in Miami Shirley Nomadland Mank Let Them All Talk Dick Johnson is Dead Jimmy Carter Rock and Roll President Borat Subsequent Movie… Continue reading My Finalized List: Top 10 Movies of 2020
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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
Rebecca, the Original 1940
In anticipation of watching the Armie Hammer remake, I had to first watch the original Rebecca from 1940, which is the only film Hitchcock ever won an Oscar (and this for film, not direction). The 1940’s version starts Laurence Olivier as the oxymoronic man both aloof and temperamental. The character, at least portrayed here is… Continue reading Rebecca, the Original 1940
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Aaron Sorkin’s prolific and still relatively young. As I perused his filmography, here are my top five of his films: 1. Steve Jobs 2. Social Network 3. Moneyball 4. Molly’s Game 5. Tie: Charlie Wilson’s War and today’s specialty The Trial of the Chicago 7 Aaron’s forte is his snappy storytelling and The Trial of… Continue reading The Trial of the Chicago 7
On the Rocks, Conned this Rox
One of my top fifteen movies of all time is Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola’s gorgeous ode to feeling misunderstood, captured perfectly by two different generations (Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson) who come together in a hotel bar. So I went skipping to On the Rocks, Sofia’s newest using Bill Murray again, in a different… Continue reading On the Rocks, Conned this Rox
A Kaufman Plug: Woman Under the Influence
Charlie Kaufman’s an influencer, not the Instagram type, more of the cinematic and literary type. Having attempted to read a book he mentions in Antkind (The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty, blech, a shallow, yet ironic attempt to analyze our fixation with beauty), I took a crack at Woman Under the Influence from 1974 (after the… Continue reading A Kaufman Plug: Woman Under the Influence
I’m Thinking of Ending Things, But Confusion Set In, Instead
I’m fixated on Charlie Kaufman lately, immediately falling in love with Antkind, his new epic comedy novel. So when it piggybacked (great callback that no one will appreciate unless they see “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”) a new movie he adapted from a novel by Iain Reid, I was in. But wait, an hour in… Continue reading I’m Thinking of Ending Things, But Confusion Set In, Instead
A Confession of True Romance
I had better things to do in 1993, having had my precious son during that year, 27 years ago. And I was a Tarantino naysayer up until Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his old stuff being too rough for my silky blood. But now that I’m older and more jaded (and can mute and… Continue reading A Confession of True Romance
Coogan + Brydon=Bliss: A Trip to Greece
Here’s a first: I rented the new, fourth and unfortunately last of Michael Winterbottom’s Trip series with the delectable Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon AND was enjoying it so intensely, I watched it in spurts in purpose. Their impersonations, singing, sound effects are so dizzying, their conversations so witty and fun, that why you would… Continue reading Coogan + Brydon=Bliss: A Trip to Greece
Another Adults Home Alone Feature: Aberdeen
In the rabbit hole of what to watch, I happened upon Aberdeen from 2000, written and directed by Hans Petter Moland (his most recent film was Out Stealing Horses [2019] which garnered several awards in Norway). Aberdeen stars Lena Headey who I’m probably the only person on Earth who didn’t know who she was (Game… Continue reading Another Adults Home Alone Feature: Aberdeen