By Eleanor Ringel Cater Since the world turned upside down in 2020, it perhaps makes some sort of oddball sense that we look to traditions like award shows to give us an illusion of balance. But with theaters shut down for much of the year, nobody knows exactly what to expect from the granddaddy of […]
Tag: Eleanor Ringel Cater
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‘The Father’ – Anthony Hopkins deals with dementia in stellar performance
As emotionally complex as its title is simple, “The Father” offers one of the most memorable performances you’ll ever see. That it comes from an actor whose name has become synonymous with memorable performances makes his portrayal all the more remarkable.
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‘Nomadland’ – a ‘houseless’ Frances McDormand stars in ‘excellent’ nomads movie
Fern (Frances McDormand), the widowed protagonist of the excellent new film, “Nomadland” is new to the nomad life. When we first meet her, she’s just lost her husband, her job, even her zip code (the year is 2011 and her hometown has literally been erased by the Great Recession).
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‘Minari’ – movie about a Korean-American family gets everything right
Every once in a while, a movie gets everything so right that it’s almost impossible to explain why.
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A tribute to Cicely Tyson – a gifted performer who deserved more
Cicely Tyson, who died last week at age 96, had a remarkable career. She could’ve achieved so much more if her skin had been a different color. And she knew it.
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‘Promising Young Woman’ – darkly funny movie adeptly takes one risky twist after another
In the jaw-dropping “Promising Young Woman,” the phenomenal Carey Mulligan takes us into the very darkest heart of rape culture, touching on everything from your obvious open schoolboy rape to deeper consequences brought up by such real-life cases as Harvey Weinstein.
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‘News of the World” – traveling the Old West with Tom Hanks
I’m partial to Westerns – as people partial to Westerns are likely to say. So, I expected to like Tom Hanks’ “News of the World.” What surprised me was how very much I liked it.
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Honoring director Michael Apted, who documented aging in his Up series
Please, put current events on pause, I’d like to pay tribute to British director Michael Apted, who died last week at age 79.
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‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ – sadly, last chance to see the late Chadwick Boseman
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” was the first August Wilson play I ever saw. And I saw it under ideal conditions, in the early ‘80s, in previews, before it made its official Broadway debut.
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‘Another Round’ – Danish movie about drinking gives Mads Mikkelsen a chance to shine
It was Humphrey Bogart, I think, who pointed out that the problem with the world is that everyone else is three drinks behind.
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‘The Prom’ – Not Meryl Streep’s finest moment or movie
“The Prom” proves even Meryl Streep can make a mistake. For that matter, so can James Corden, Kerry Washington, Nicole Kidman and Keegan-Michael Key.
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‘Mank’ – David Fincher’s depiction of a sliver of Hollywood history
The title of David Fincher’s much-anticipated new movie is “Mank.” As in “stank.”
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‘Hillbilly Elegy’ – ‘flavorless’ film misses mark in its view of the South
The best thing about “Hillbilly Elegy” is its title. As a book, it was of some interest, examining the dead-end existence that defines the South most of us don’t think about much.
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‘The Nest’ – superb acting in Sean Durkin’s movie of a family in crisis
Studies in free-floating anxiety are rarely as well done as the one in “The Nest,” a sort of haunted-house movie in which, despite hints to the contrary, the house is probably just fine.
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‘On the Rocks’ – enjoyable Sofia Coppola movie set in pre-pandemic NYC
Sofia Coppola has a huge crush on Bill Murray. So what? Most of us, male or female, have a huge crush on Bill Murray. For decades.
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‘Rebecca’ – the 2020 Netflix movie a far cry from 1940’s Hitchcock classic
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. Unfortunately, it was the wrong Manderley. It was the recent Technicolor one inhabited by Lily James, Armie Hammer and Kristin Scott Thomas.
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‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ – Adam Sorkin’s courtroom drama adeptly captures history
“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Aaron Sorkin’s cracklingly good Netflix movie about what happened in Judge Julius Hoffman’s (Frank Langella) courtroom.
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‘The Boys in the Band’ – a ‘gay and out’ remake of 1970 movie
The year is 1968. Records are still records and landlines are still called telephones. Stonewall is a year away and the specter of AIDS lurks in a distant decade.
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‘The Glorias’ – movie about Gloria Steinem is ‘an unmitigated disaster’
“The Glorias,” Julie Taymor’s take on the life and times of Gloria Steinem, is so muddled and off-putting that I’m going to cancel my subscription to Ms.magazine.
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‘Made in Italy’ – Liam Neeson, and real-life son Michael Richardson, star in unsatisfying movie
“Made in Italy” looks like a real movie. But like a cheap knock-off of a trendy gadget, it might as well be tagged “Made in Japan.”
