Christopher Plummer has left us at age 91. A remarkable actor, he could play everything from Shakespearean kings and Incan royalty to an addled Holocaust survivor and an anti-Nazi Edelweiss-loving Austrian.
Tag: Eleanor Ringel
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In memory of Sean Connery – a charismatic actor with a special twinkle
The name was Connery. Sean Connery. And nobody did Bond better. James Bond, that is.
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‘Borat 2’ – Sacha Barron Cohen’s movie a bright spot in 2020
First things first about the daring and absolutely hilarious “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” – (hereafter to be known as “Borat 2”).
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‘The King of Staten Island’ – Pete Davidson successfully transitions from SNL to movies
The question on everyone’s mind about “The King of Staten Island” is pretty simple: has Pete Davidson got the goods?
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‘The Invisible Man’ – movie with feminist agenda is visibly flawed
Given its not-so-subtle feminist agenda, “The invisible Man” might better be called “The Invisible Woman.”
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‘Wendy’ – another failed “Peter Pan” themed movie
The tone of poetic fantasy that was so effective in Benh Zeitlin’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” proves a terrible fit for his newest work, “Wendy.”
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‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ – Céline Sciamma’s ‘superb’ movie casts a spell
See if you can follow me here.
The lady on fire in Céline Sciamma’s superb film, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” may not be the lady in the portrait. It could just as easily be the lady who paints the portrait.
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‘Greed’ – a romp through the abuses of the rich and infamous
You could say Gordon Gekko was wrong. “Greed” isn’t just good.
It’s hilarious – and ultimately quite sobering.
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‘The Traitor’ – a true Mafia thriller that spans decades
In many ways, “The Traitor” is the movie “The Irishman” should’ve been. It, too, is made by an aging master – 80-year-old Marco Bellocchio rather than 77-year-old Martin Scorsese. It, too, runs several hours. And it, too, is a Mafia-based true story.
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‘The Gentlemen’ – Guy Ritchie’s new ‘devilish’ live-action movie
Because I swallowed both versions of “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” I usually expect to swallow Guy Ritchie’s other movies, well…lock, stock and two smoking barrels.
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‘Just Mercy’ – The more things change, the more they stay the same
“Just Mercy” would be the one of the best movies of the year if the year were 1988 or even 1968. There were moments when I glanced away from the screen, looked back and fully expected to see Sidney Poitier.
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‘1917’ – a memorable war epic by director Sam Mendes
By Eleanor Ringel Cater
“1917” occupies a kind of unusual no-man’s land, somewhere between Kirk Douglas’ “Paths of Glory” and Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now.”
It’s not as good as either of those masterworks, but it’s good – really good – in its own way.
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‘Little Women’ – the best movie adaptation of the novel to date
As a woman, bibliophile and – you guessed it! – feminist, I’m supposed to love Louisa May Alcott’s 19th-century novel, “Little Women,” about four sisters and their mom, living in Massachusetts during the Civil War.
Well, I don’t. I don’t hate it, but the adventures of Lassie or the Black Stallion always appealed more.
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‘The Irishman’ – director Martin Scorsese’s latest film not his best
Maybe I’m all Martin Scorsese’d out.
After all, I’ve been watching his movies for almost half a century.
But “The Irishman,” which I’d hoped would be his piece de resistance, his final say on what he had to say about the gangster genre that, with few exceptions, he pretty much owns, didn’t do it for me.
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‘JoJo Rabbit’ – Hitler is an imaginary pal in movie with too many ideas
In “JoJo Rabbit,” Mel Brooks meets Wes Anderson, and it’s not a good match. Brooks is broad, vulgar, vaudevillian. Anderson is arch, aesthetic, a minimalist of sorts.
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‘Late Night’ – Emma Thompson is movie’s ace in the hole
“Late Night” is both too little and too late.
I say that regretfully. The idea of a workplace comedy attuned to #MeToo and #TimesUp would certainly be welcome, especially in the summer when Hollywood all but posts signs saying “No Girls Allowed.”
But writer/star Mindy Kaling simply hasn’t come up with the goods.
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‘Rocketman’ – a jukebox version of Elton John, who deserves more
Going in, you already know that last year’s unexpected hit, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” would be either the best thing or the worst thing to happen to “Rocketman,” the new Elton John movie.The parallels are so strong: similar time frames, similar problems (being gay in a pre-woke world), similar storylines (success is more likely to bring cocaine than happiness).
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‘The Aftermath’ – a post-war love triangle that falls flat
“The Aftermath” is the sort of movie about which somebody will inevitably write, “They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.”“The Aftermath” is a good reason why.Tepid, obvious, uninvolving, “The Aftermath” proves that, yes, in the shadow of World War II, the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans unless, they’re named Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Heinreid and they’re hanging out in Casablanca.
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‘Never Look Away’ – a character-rich film set in Germany from 1937 to 1966
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s new movie, “Never Look Away,” has been nominated for a Best Foreign Language Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards. And no wonder. It has the epic incident-laden sweep of something by Tolstoy or Dickens.
If von Donnersmarck’s name is in the least bit familiar, it’s probably for one of two reasons.
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‘Destroyer’ – Nicole Kidman acts beautifully in unpredictable movie
“Destroyer” sounds like an old Steven Seagal movie or a new Marvel villain.
It’s neither. Rather, this is a totally unexpected picture, a kind of sunbaked film noir, starring a remarkable Nicole Kidman as an LAPD cop at the very end of her tether.
