“Roadrunner” is a semi- informative look at a decidedly opaque man – Anthony Bourdain. A charmer, yes. Also, an intellectual with a sensitive side and a cynic with a snarky streak.
Author Archives: Eleanor Ringel Cater
Eleanor Ringel, Movie Critic, was the film critic for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for almost 30 years. She was nominated multiple times for a Pulitzer Prize. She won the Best of Cox Critic, IMAGE Film & Video and Women In Film awards. An Atlanta native, she graduated from Westminster and Brown University. She was the critic on WXIA’s Noonday, a member of Entertainment Weekly's Critics Grid and wrote TV Guide’s movie/DVD. She is member of the National Society of Film Critics and currently talks about movies on WMLB and writes the Time Out column for the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
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‘In the Heights’ – a Lin-Manuel Miranda musical full of charm
Okay, as someone more into Wuthering Heights than Washington Heights, I’m hardly the target audience for “In the Heights,” the movie adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pre-“Hamilton” 2008 Tony-winner.
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‘Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It’ – a profile of an ‘EGOT’
Because she was from Puerto Rico, Rita Moreno had to play everything from Mexican spitfires to Native American maidens to doomed Asian lovers.
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‘A Quiet Place: Part II’ – sequel overrun by icky insects and multiple storylines
My guess is, when John Krasinski directed, co-wrote and starred in 2018’s “A Quiet Place,” he wasn’t thinking about a sequel.
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‘Sylvie’s Love’ mingles love and music within Black society of the ‘50’s, ‘60’s
“Sweet” is the sort of word reviewers typically use to describe something inoffensive, but no more than so-so. That’s not the case with “Sylvie’s Love.”
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‘Lansky’ – an old-style gangster movie starring Harvey Keitel
Sometimes it seems gangster movies are as American as Mom and apple pie. So, it makes a certain sense that “Lansky,” starring Harvey Keitel as the mobster Meyer Lansky, should open around the 4th of July.
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‘Cruella’ – a nauseating plot prequel to ‘101 Dalmatians’
Somebody call PETA now. “Cruella” is pure putrid poison, a camped-up extravaganza disguised as harmless kiddie crud.
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‘Riders of Justice’ – a movie with the Danish sense of the absurd
There are those of us who would follow Mads Mikkelsen anywhere.
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‘Dream Horse’ – a great story better told in documentary ‘Dark Horse’
“I’ve just had a pee next to Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber!” If that bit of dialogue gives you a chuckle, then “Dream Horse” may be the movie for you.
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‘Undine’ – movie flows in and out of underwater fantasy and life
“Undine” is a movie you have to be in the mood for. It luxuriates in its ambiguities, not really caring if we’re with it or not.
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‘Georgetown’ – Christoph Waltz’ directoral debut an enjoyable near miss
Much like its slippery protagonist, “Georgetown” holds your attention. But again, much like hanging around said protagonist, you may not be sure your time was well spent.
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‘The Dry’ – dual murder mysteries set in an Australian town of ‘old grudges’
It is a measure of “The Dry’s” generosity that it offers two murder-mysteries for the price of one.
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‘The Woman in the Window’ – talented Amy Adams unable to save movie
The ghost of Alfred Hitchcock hovers over “The Woman in the Window” the way Grace Kelly hovers over a laid-up Jimmy Stewart in “Rear Window.” Only, there’s no Princess-Grace-to-be on hand (or a Hitchcock, for that matter) to help Amy Adams through this clumsy would-be thriller.
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‘Nobody’ – a clever action-packed thriller starring Bob Odenkirk
If you want to enjoy “Nobody” as it’s intended to be enjoyed, don’t read another word about it. Not even here.
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‘The Truffle Hunters’ – a documentary on ‘joy of looking’ for truffles
Otherworldly and breathtakingly lovely, Gregory Kershaw and Michael Dweck’s documentary about the world of truffles – buying, selling, tasting and, most importantly, finding them – could well be subtitled “The Joy of Looking.”
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A ‘luckier’ Anthony Hopkins gets Oscar nod in lieu of the late Chadwick Boseman
The producers of the 93rdOscar ceremony had a number of challenges, not the least of which was, how do you stage a show in the middle of a pandemic?
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Eleanor’s guide to 2021 Academy Awards airing on April 25
The Academy Awards may be turning 93, but the prize has nonetheless managed to cough up a few firsts this time around.
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British Academy awards ‘Nomadland’ and ‘Promising Young Woman’ top honors
Compared to the Oscars, the BAFTAS are mere infants. The BAFTAS, you say?
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SAG Awards give top honors to actors of color
Though the Screen Actors Guild Awards are only 27 years old, they have a considerable impact on their Big Bro, the 93-year-old Academy Awards. SAG’s Best Ensemble Award is considered a clear prognosticator for the eventual Best Picture winner at the Oscars.
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‘French Exit’ – Michelle Pfeiffer stars in whimsical movie set in Paris
Can a film be both mercurial and melancholy? I wouldn’t have thought so until I saw “French Exit” – a whimsical yet downbeat movie about aging, loneliness and how to go out in style.
