Directed by Denny Tedesco Man, I wanted to love this movie. The subject is so interesting, the players are hilarious and confident in their oral history, and the music is…well…some of the greatest music ever made. How could it possibly … Continue reading “The Wrecking Crew”
As we climbed the seventeen flights of stairs to the sound-stage (okay, four flights), I was stuck wondering how big the hole left by the departure of original vocalist and founder, Jon King – who retired last year – would … Continue reading Gang of Four live, in studio on JBTV (03/02/2015)
HERE IT IS! My official Oscars “Will/Should” Ballot I tend to do very well in predicting the winners as I see everything and, due to my prximity to the awards and the voters, I usually can read the temperature of … Continue reading 87th Oscar Predictions: Will win / Should win
Reviews ranked from Best to Worst from my POV: “Aya” (France/Israel): directed by Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis What starts as a cute little film about a whimsical act becomes something MUCH more intimate. I could’ve watched another hour of … Continue reading “2015 Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts”
Directed by J.C. Chandor If you, like me, love NYC character films from bygone eras, then you will love “A Most Violent Year,” if for no other reason, then for the emotional accuracy of it’s time and place: the seedier … Continue reading “A Most Violent Year
Directed by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne Positives first: 1) Cotillard is excellent. 2) The script throws us in to the second act in the first line of dialogue, which I found refreshing… …until you realize that there is really nowhere … Continue reading “Two Days One Night”
Directed by Ana DuVarnay Okay, so the way I see it, there are three ways to look at this film; as a simple, emotional, movie-going audience member; as a lover of historical accuracy; and as a critic of moviecraft. So … Continue reading “Selma”
Directed by Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland First of all, bring about 27 boxes of Kleenex to the theater. Secondly, it’s a testament to the performance of Julianne Moore that you’ll be sobbing within eight minutes of the start of … Continue reading “Still Alice”
Directed by Clint Eastwood Like many Eastwood flicks over the last several years, I felt something was off. It was not the lead actor, as Cooper is terrific. It wasn’t the writing, although more could’ve been made of how post-deployment … Continue reading “American Sniper”
Created by Jill Soloway So I watched all ten episodes of “Transparent” last night (awake until 5am to do so). It affected me so strongly and in so many different ways. It’s really a stunningly well-executed show. The writing is … Continue reading “Transparent” (Amazon Prime)
The No Spoiler Critic 