Betsy Sherman

Film Review: “No No: A Dockumentary” — Could Use a Touch of Madness

September 6, 2014
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No No: A Dockumentary presents a textured portrait, on and off the field, of ’70s pitching phenomenon Dock Ellis.

Film Review: “Abuse of Weakness” — Encounter With a Monster

August 18, 2014
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Writer-director Catherine Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness is a fascinating, nicely restrained look at what in retrospect was a parasitic relationship.

Film Review: Scarlet Roots — Jean Renoir Inspires a Fritz Lang Film Noir

July 30, 2014
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The stupendous Fritz Lang retrospective running over the course of this summer at Harvard Film Archive will soon screen two Lang remakes (in America) of films directed by Jean Renoir.

Film Review: Selections from the 19th Annual Boston French Film Festival — “Apaches” and “Age of Panic”

July 22, 2014
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Two significant feature debuts at the MFA’s French Film Festival — Age of Panic goes where few movies have gone before, while Apaches trains a calm, dispassionate gaze on disaffected youth.

Film Review: The 19th Annual Boston French Film Festival — “Love Is the Perfect Crime,” “Abuse of Weakness”

July 10, 2014
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This year’s Boston French Film Festival (July 10 through 27) proffers a just-about 50-50 mix of male and female directors.

Film Review: “Teenage” — What it Was Like to be Young and Restless in the 20th Century

May 23, 2014
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Like the Jon Savage book it is based on, “Teenage” avoids gooey nostalgia; the documentary’s enjoyable to watch, and refreshingly not tongue-in-cheek.

Movie Review: “Million Dollar Arm” — A Pleasing Baseball Movie Where Fact and Fable Meet

May 17, 2014
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Given its its male-weepy genre, the “inspirational sports movie based on a true story,” Million Dollar Arm is surprisingly enjoyable.

Film Review: “The Double” — Solid, Knot-in-the-stomach, Dostoyevskian Fun.

May 16, 2014
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The movie intelligently reimagines the Dostoyevsky novella while retaining the emotional turmoil at its core. It’s a brilliantly executed pitch-black comedy.

Film Review: “Fading Gigolo” — Kind of Funny, Kind of Touching

May 2, 2014
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“Fading Gigolo” isn’t about fulfillment, sexual or otherwise — it’s about the transitions in the lives of its characters.

Film Review: John Hubley Centennial — America’s Indispensable Designer of Animated Films

April 20, 2014
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John Hubley was a dominant force in bringing animation out of the studio system and onto the drawing boards of individual artists . His life story is also an entryway into the social history and controversies of mid-20th century America.

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