The joy of living in New York! The Tribeca Film Festival is one of my favorite New York things to do. This year, we were able to schedule screening of two very different films, a narrative and a documentary. First-the narrative. While We Were Here is small budget, independent film starring Kate Bosworth. Written, directed, [...]
Archive for the ‘Movie’ Category
12 Feb
Safe House
I feel like I’ve seen this movie before. Rogue CIA agent meets MI6 agent in a restaurant in Cape Town. Some information is passed. One of them doesn’t make it out alive. And the other is hunted down by some sinister looking dudes with heavy artillery. What is this valuable information? Why are people being [...]
5 Feb
The Artist
So-the quest to see all of the films nominated for Best Picture Oscars begins in earnest. I don’t actually expect to accomplish this goal, but I’ll have fun trying. The Artist is a mostly silent film about, yes, the end of the era of silent films. I was afraid that Jean Dujardin’s character, George Valentin, [...]
26 Jan
War Horse
Yes, this tearjerker of a movie has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture. And oddly enough, I think, it’s the only Best Picture nominee that I’ve seen this year. I guess I better get myself out to the movies! But I digress. War Horse is based on a book written by Michael Morpurgo [...]
9 Jan
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
It’s been many years since I read John le Carre’s master work Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the other novels that comprise his “Smiley Series”. In these novels, le Carre constructed a complex and realistic world centered on MI6, the British intelligence organization. Most of the novels in the series take place during the Cold [...]
3 Jan
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
I read all the books, I saw all the original Swedish movies, and now I’m starting all over with the English language version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. This version is faithful in spirit to Stieg Larsson’s novel. The books are so dense and so full of subplots, the movie would have to [...]
23 Dec
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
The best that I can say about the latest entry into the Sherlock Holmes canon of adaptations is that it is better than the previous Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. There is lots of action and great special effects. Unfortunately, all this nonsense has little to do with Sir Arthur [...]
12 Nov
J. Edgar
I really wanted to like this movie. After all-it was directed by Clint Eastwood, and has two amazing stars. Leonardo DiCaprio-a perennial favorite, and the relatively new star Armie Hammer. And the subject! J. Edgar Hoover was a fascinating man. Highly intelligent and ambitious, he brought the FBI into the modern era of crime detection. [...]
27 Oct
The Ides of March
I saw The Ides of March almost three weeks ago on its opening weekend. I just never got around to writing the review, so I’ll make it quick and short so I can get this off my conscience! I know I’ve been down on George Clooney before; I seem to be the only one in [...]
21 May
Pirates of the Caribbean:On Stranger Tides
As usual I was anxious to see the latest installment in this block buster series. So-despite the stellar cast: Johnny Depp (of course); Keith Richards (briefly); Penelope Cruz; Ian McShane (as Blackbeard); and Geoffrey Rush, this movie is boring. Depp’s character, Captain Jack Sparrow, has not developed at all in the course of the four [...]
