Tag: movies
Fourteen Amazing Films You Might Have Missed in 2017
2017 was a pretty good year for American film. Sure, there were plenty of head scratchers, disappointments, and outright train wrecks, but that’s for another column. (Which will be called “Head Scratchers, Disappointments & Outright Train Wrecks” – it’s all about the ampersand.) Today, we celebrate the minor gems. “Minor” only in the sense that…
Cat People Turns 75 – Celebrating the Legacy of Val Lewton
Last year filmmakers, film historians, film critics and hardcore cinephiles across the world celebrated the 75th Diamond Anniversary of the film the American Film Institute calls the “greatest motion picture ever made”: Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941). Lead actor, director, co-writer and co-producer Welles brought the film to life when he was only in his…
Review: ‘Downsizing’ Goes Big with Ideas But Stays Small in Execution
Alexander Payne’s 2017 science-fiction picture Downsizing is so cleverly conceived you might forget how poorly made it is. Undoubtedly, it’s not a horrible movie. In fact, it’s quite watchable, though it drags at certain points and has its share of frustrating moments. The problem is that it should have been better, given the talent behind…
American Film Institute: 2018 European Union Film Showcase
The American Film Institute’s Silver Theatre held the 30th edition of its European Union Film Showcase this December. Always a highlight, the 2017 Showcase screened 44 new movies from the 28 EU member nations. Here is a brief recap of this year’s Showcase. THE SUBLIME The Workshop (Laurent Cantet, France) On Body and Soul (Ildiko…
Thor: Ragnarok – The God of Thunder Trades Hammer for Humor
2017: a year in which a movie about The Goddess of Death is the gut-busting comedy of the year. Irony has rarely been penned so beautifully, and so surprisingly signed off by a major, family-friendly studio. Thor: Ragnarok, the latest title in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is as much like its predecessors as Shakespeare is…