Sundance Premiere: “How to Tell You’re a Douchebag”

It’s rare that a movie makes you both laugh and cry. It’s rarer still that a scene makes you laugh and cry at exactly the same time. But this was my experience during a scene in HOW TO TELL YOU’RE A DOUCHBAG, in which the heartbroken Jake Brown played by William Jackson Harper, sobs hopelessly […]

Read More

"Spotlight" seeks to expose a widespread cover-up, starring Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, John Slattery, and an all-star cast.

Film: “Spotlight”

This well-received docudrama, directed and co-written, with Josh Singer, by Thomas McCarthy, is a fine example of “journalism” cinema, where dogged reporters overcome seemingly insurmountable barriers to expose corruption. In this case, the story they are pursuing is the Catholic Church’s systemic cover-up of possibly hundreds of cases of child abuse by priests in Boston […]

Read More

Johnny Depp and Joel Edgarton in Black Mass

Film: “Black Mass”

The buzz on this docudrama about south Boston crime boss James “Whitey ” Bulger is that Johnny Depp returns to form, and his performance makes it a winner. Sorry, but Depp’s skill and charisma can only go so far. The few characters in this film who are not thoroughly despicable or pathetically stupid – notably […]

Read More