Screen
Bland, flavorless cheese
Sand dunes at sunset, summer lovin’ (had me a blast!), a third-act medical crisis and a clutch of letters designed to be read aloud in voice-over: Another month, another adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks romance. This month’s is called The Last Song, starring Miley ...
In this life or the next
Filmmaking is an act of optimism. Setting ideas to paper, convincing others to come and join the party, devoting time, money, blood, sweat and tears to capture those images on celluloid, believing those images can carry meaning throughout the world and, hopefully, ...
X marks the spotty
Like a car mechanic tasked with repairing a UFO or a political pundit faced with explaining Donald Trump’s cabinet appointments, critically appraising the third...
Fight the power
From the late 1990s to the early years of the 21st century, some of the best in cinema came out of Iran. Populated with directors like Asghar Farhadi, Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Jafar Panahi, Iran’s postmodern renaissance showed that nothing was safe ...
Majestical or just majestic?
Family units are fascinating things. Some come ready-made, while others must be forged out of sheer will. That’s what Ricky (Julian Dennison) is hoping...
Soulless cinema
To Disney, from the desk of Mufasa: “Remember who you are.”
The Lion King, Disney’s latest computer-generated remake, isn’t like the rest. Yes, the story...
Why teenagers shouldn’t get superpowers
Teenagers acquire superpowers and, being teenagers, videotape themselves as they learn what they can do in Chronicle, an entertaining comic book movie without the comic book...
