Film: “Wild Tales”

This Argentinian film was Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Film last year, and I recommend it, with reservations.  The writer-director, Damian Szifron, has a jaundiced view of humanity, but is inclined to see the humor in how we pathetic creatures relate to each other. Of the six stories he tells, only one, the last, even hints […]

Read More

3 Films at Tribeca

Here’s my take on three at Tribeca 2015. The sole entertainment value in Franny – a considerable one – is watching Richard Gere go to town in a bravura performance in the title role as a charismatic, sexy, charming multi-millionaire who desperately uses his money to atone for guilt in the deaths of his best […]

Read More

5 at “New Directors” 2015

I’ve chosen 5 films at this year’s “New Directors/New Films” festival – a joint production of MOMA and Lincoln Center Film Society – and I’ve found it as stimulating as ever. Here’s my rundown, in order of viewing. The Creation of Meaning is a title that tells you what the filmmaker wants to do, but […]

Read More

Peter Handke and Wim Wenders at MOMA

Among the world’s most prominent independent filmmakers, Wim Wenders has finally been honored with a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. I attended two of the ten films, both of which were written by Peter Handke. They were present at the screenings, and were interviewed afterwards. The first film, The Goalie’s Anxiety at the […]

Read More

Reese Witherspoon in "Wild"

Film: “Wild”

It doesn’t live up to its title, unfortunately. “Aimless” would have been more like it. We’ve seen filmmakers adapt autobiographies that tell of personal struggles or heroic exploits.  American Sniper is a recent example. Reese Witherspoon, who produced the film, obviously felt that Cheryl Strayed’s story would provide her with a challenging role. Her challenge – literally – […]

Read More

Bill Rohan (Callum Turner, seated rt.) watching the coronation of Elizabeth II on TV with family

Film: “Queen and Country”

More than a quarter century has passed since Hope and Glory (1987), John Boorman’s excellent autobiographical film of his childhood in the London blitz. Now we gratefully receive “Queen and Country”, a sequel of seamless tonal consistency. Although smaller in scale and significance than Hope and Glory, it still benefits from Boorman’s vision of the British […]

Read More

Film: “Foxcatcher”

Foxcatcher, directed by Bennett Miller, may be a docudrama about a famous murder case, but it is also – thrillingly! – a film about sports. That the two films never quite unify into a single artistic statement should not diminish its achievement. I’ve never seen a film that so powerfully conveys the appeal and intimacy between […]

Read More