Film: “Red Rocket”

“Red Rocket” is writer-director Sean Baker’s follow-up to 2017’s “The Florida Project” (reviewed 10/1/2018). Like the earlier film, it is a funny, canny examination of a select group of Americans losers, but with a more complex, and stronger, story line. Obviously, Baker is more confident now. The protagonist is Mikey (Simon Rex), a tall, well-toned dropout […]

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Film: “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Martin McDonagh’s latest film, “The Banshees of Inisherin“, represents a departure for him, as well as his fans. It is more personal, and darker, than anything of his I’ve seen before. And, inevitably, it influences our memory of his previous work. Still, he is as nimble as ever. The darkness creeps in slowly, but all […]

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Film: “Tar”

In “Tar”, the new film written and directed by Todd Field, Cate Blanchett plays Lydia Tar, an internationally renowned orchestra conductor (or “Maestra”). She is adored by music lovers, but also progressives everywhere, especially the young, who look upon her as a champion of women’s rights in the male-dominated canon of Western culture. Blanchett’s overwhelming […]

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Film: “The Card Counter”

“The Card Counter” is Paul Schrader’s follow-up to his superb “First Reformed”, and it continues his thought-provoking and sincere exploration of guilt in contemporary America. As with Ethan Hawke in the previous film, he has found the ideal actor for the lead role in Oscar Isaac. Similarly, the climactic scene is truly shocking, a totally […]

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