I saw a handful of fiction films which were well directed, capably acted, and offered meaningful stories.
Film Reviews: Three Fine Documentaries at SXSW — “Salvage,” “Breakthrough,” and “Mr. Jimmy”
The first three films I watched at SXSW this year were picked by me with the editors in mind. Not coincidentally, the editors also had pedigreed Massachusetts roots.
Film Review: “Greta” — A Tedious, Ugly Stalker Film
Greta is a slight, uninspired by-the-numbers genre film — we’ve seen this paranoia-inducing tale too often.
Film Review: 2019 Oscar-nominated Best Documentary Shorts — Wrestling With Death
It is safe to predict that the winner in this category will be one of the entries that squares off against mortality.
Arts Commentary: My Blackface Confession
Did I try to fit in at my segregated school, betraying my father and his values to be a popular white boy?
Film Review: 2019 Oscar-nominated Live Action Shorts — A Bunch of Downers
Shame on you, Academy, for such feeble, uninspired, downer picks.
Film Review: “Burning” — A Powerful Philosophical Suspense Yarn
Not since Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-Up and L’Aventura has there been such a mesmerizing tale of the more you look, the less you find out.
Film Review: “Rodents of Unusual Size” — Scary! Creepy!
How will PC New Englanders react to seeing nutria gunned down by hunters, and some bashed on their heads to make sure they are dead?
Film Review: “The Bookshop” — A Closed Book
Reading is treated as a commodity, namedropping literary titles as a way for middlebrow film audiences to feel proud of themselves for being in the know.
Film Review: Rita Hayworth Centennial Celebration Winds Down
The Lady from Shanghai is a black comedy of manners, a “film noir” near-masterpiece.