Yes, I, a man, can enjoy an occasional Jane Austen-inspired movie, too. For instance, I highly recommend Pride and Prejudice (1940, with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier), Sense and Sensibility (1995, with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet) and Emma (1996, […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
The Gentlemen (2020) ☆ ☆ ☆
If Quentin Tarantino is truly to retire after one more film, then who will film fans turn to for their specialized thrills? How about Guy Ritchie, who delivers a very Tarantino-esque crime comedy / drama and has carved a fairly […]
Continue reading »Downhill (2020) ☆ ☆
Another character study, that unfortunately is not as illuminating, is the comedy-drama Downhill. It centers around one family on skiing vacation in Europe, and one very dramatic moment that changes everything for what seems to be an already troubled marriage. […]
Continue reading »The Two Popes (2019) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
This is not the kind of movie that I normally gravitate toward. I’m not very religious and largely distrust the Catholic hierarchy in Rome because of their horrible record regarding child molesting priests. Yet the intrigue of the Vatican is […]
Continue reading »Marriage Story (2019) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
I think the title of this movie should have been Divorce Story, since that is what occurs over the space of two-plus hours. That shouldn’t be a spoiler, if you’ve seen the preview. But what is revealed during that time, […]
Continue reading »Just Mercy (2019) ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Some films seem to be destined to be under-appreciated, and this true life tale seems to be destined to that fate. I thought it was great. I think there can be many definitions, or qualifications, for something to be considered […]
Continue reading »Parasite (Gisaengchung) (2019) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
Perhaps the most acclaimed film of the year comes from South Korea. It is a film which constantly surprises, and which gradually builds into something completely unpredictable. It is the type of film that Hollywood executives seem to fear because […]
Continue reading »Little Women (2019) ☆ ☆ ☆
Louisa May Alcott’s most famous tale has been filmed numerous times, often with great results — I gave the 1994 version four stars. This particular version jumps around in time, which I found rather distracting, but writer-director Greta Gerwig develops […]
Continue reading »Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) ☆ ☆ ☆
I daresay nobody was more surprised that Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) was as good as it is than me; I didn’t like the original Jumanji (1995) very much, but the reboot was both visually exciting and dramatically sound […]
Continue reading »1917 (2019) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
How many classic World War I films can you name? I’ll list a few — All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Paths of Glory (1957) and 1917 (2019). I don’t count Wings (1927), The Blue Max (1966) or Zeppelin […]
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