The problem with I Care a Lot is that, despite its intimations of reality, there are tropes and story elements that come off as melodramatic for melodrama’s sake.
Film
Film Review: “Jumbo” — Love with the Proper Object
Jumbo is one of the most magically affecting and visually enthralling romances I’ve seen in quite some time
Book/Film Interview: Leslie Epstein on “Casablanca” and “Hill of Beans”
An interview with Brookline’s own Leslie Epstein on his new novel, the inexhaustible freshness of Casablanca, and the need for truth in historical fiction.
Book Review: “Second Time Around: From Art House to DVD”
The book’s conceit is that D.A. Miller watches films he’s seen earlier in life with enhanced perception because of the possibilities offered him through the DVD lens.
Film Review: “Billie” — A Fascinating Spotlight on a Jazz Legend
Billie is a stunning new documentary about Billie Holiday, one of the greatest jazz vocalists of the 20th century.
Film Review: “A Glitch in the Matrix” – Do Socially Maladjusted Men Dream of Black Trench Coats?
A Glitch in the Matrix is nowhere near as unhinged as a Dinesh D’Souza “documentary,” but it’s mentally taxing to watch so many people describe the real world like it’s Minecraft.
Film Review: “4×4” — Pedal to the Metal
Despite its potential for black comedy or moral sermonizing, 4×4 remains a gripping suspenser.
Film Review: “Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar” — A Mildly Frothy Farce
We’re desperate for some frothy good spirits, so welcome Barb & Star’s turquoise ‘n’ hot pink assault, forgive it for being mildly funny more often than wildly funny, and enjoy its modest pleasures.
Film Review: “The American Sector” — Meditating on Displaced Fragments of History
Over 75 segments from the Berlin Wall have found their way to the U.S., providing the subject for The American Sector, an amusing, quirky, and meditative road-trip/scavenger hunt.
Film Review: “The Dig” — The Depths of Discovery
The Dig is suffused with a very English (and problematic) sense of history: why it matters, how it can be taken for granted, and the odd way that certain elements of the past are valorized while others are kept buried.