Though slack-paced, familiar and overlong, “The Holdovers” isn’t difficult to sit through. That’s mostly thanks to the cast. Giamatti is simply a wonderful actor.
Tag: movie review
‘The Burial’ – a well-acted entertaining courtroom thriller
Given its blahhh title, “The Burial” seems to be trying to dig its own grave. Actually, “The Burial” is the not-so-good title of a pretty-darn-good movie starring Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones.
‘Fair Play’ – movie show gender pitfalls of mixing work and romance
Gender politics and office politics crash into each other with head-on ferocity in “Fair Play,” a perversely provocative and shamelessly entertaining new film being shown in theaters and on Netflix.
‘A Haunting in Venice’ – Branagh movie released in time for Halloween
My guess is that Kenneth Branagh had a lot more fun making “A Haunting in Venice” than we have watching it.
‘Golda’ falls far short in depiction of Israeli prime minister Golda Meir
As Israel’s only female prime minister, Helen Mirren goes for the gold – as in, Oscar gold – in “Golda,” a tedious and piecemeal reconstruction of Golda Meir’s handling of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
‘Maestro’ – Bradley Cooper portrays Leonard Bernstein in Netflix movie
“Schnozzgate” (as my pal Lee has dubbed it) centers on the online kerfuffle arising from director/star Bradley Cooper’s decision to play famed conductor Leonard Bernstein with a prosthetic nose.
Reopened Tara Theatre reaches perfection while smash hit ‘Barbie’ falls short
This post has been updated. See note at the bottom. By Eleanor Ringel Cater We all know Barbie is pretty in pink. Her movie, however, is only pretty good. And it’s very pink. The Peptol Bismol pink that drenches Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” is actually one of the picture’s best aspects. The production design is knowingly […]
Barbie: The perfect blend of fantastical and deeply relatable
At its core, Barbie is a story of self-discovery and what it means to be human — all with a California dreamland backdrop.
Oppenheimer – a ‘formidable’ movie – in 70mm at Atlanta’s Tara Theatre
Chris Escobar got me back to the movies. He rescued the Tara. He revived the Plaza. He reinvented the Atlanta Film Festival. Reviewing movies is a wonderful job. It is, nonetheless, a job. And even post-pandemic, the thought of being in a large, enclosed space with people who’ve been exposed to Lord-knows-what wasn’t…well…wasn’t my idea […]
‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed’ – portrait of artist, activist Nan Goldin
Oscar-nominated documentary “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” features artist Nan Goldin and her cohorts chanting, “Sackler lied/Thousands died,” about the pharmaceutical family that earned a fortune off the opioid crisis.
‘Aftersun’ – a memory movie of a father-daughter holiday in Turkey
“Aftersun” is just the sort of movie that might show at the a reopened Tara Theater. It’s a thoughtful, poignant piece; a memory film about a holiday in Turkey 11-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) took a couple of decades ago with her father, Calum (Oscar nominee Paul Mescal).
‘Your Place or Mine” – an affectionate rom-com starring Witherspoon and Kutcher
The title of “Your Place or Mine” comes from the premise. Debbie (Witherspoon) and Peter (Kutcher) tried hooking up 20 years ago. They decided instead to be BFF’s, checking in daily even though they live on different coasts and have very different lives.
‘The Menu’ – horror satire featuring a meal that serves more than food
If you’ve ever wanted to slap a foodie silly, “The Menu” is the movie for you.
‘White Noise’ – Noah Baumbach’s mostly successful dive into Don DeLillo’s novel
If you’re going to dive into Don DeLillo’s lower depths, best take a skilled guide. Like, say, Noah Baumbach. Not that Baumbach has totally succeeded. DeLillo’s 1985 dystopian novel, “White Noise,” is one of those famously unfilmable books
‘Glass Onion” – a murder-mystery comedy with knives out
Who’s the killer in “Glass Onion,” the new “Knives Out Mystery?” As someone who wasn’t quite all in on the first “Knives Out,” my expectations weren’t especially high. Still, who doesn’t look forward to a murder-mystery/comedy loaded with stars?
‘The Son’ – a movie about family dysfunction ‘done right’
Perhaps not the sins, but certainly the shortcomings of the fathers are visited where you might expect in “The Son,” a sharply-observed, smartly-acted follow-up of sorts to “The Father” which recently won Anthony Hopkins his second Oscar.
‘The Wonder’ – director Sebastian Lelio’s weird and astonishing movie
The sizable wonder at the center of, “The Wonder,” is its star, Florence Pugh. Her perfectly-pitched performance holds together a film that often feels like a horror movie while flirting with questions of faith and the nature of miracles.
‘Ticket to Paradise’ – Julia Roberts, George Clooney play divorced couple
Julia Roberts and George Clooney are huge stars whose on-screen presence has an iconic glow. But when you think about it – you’re reminded that one thing they don’t have is a shared history of romantic comedies.
‘The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales’ – Abigail Disney takes on the Magic Kingdom
Sometimes a documentary sets out to tell you one thing and unwittingly ends up telling you something entirely different.
‘The Good Nurse’ – superb acting in tale of ‘angel of death’ Charlie Cullen
Based on the true story of Charlie Cullen, a nurse who may have killed anywhere from 29 to 400 (!) patients, “The Good Nurse” is a face-off between superb acting and sub-par storytelling.