I fear my rating might be a bit generous. I think this film relies on the viewer familiarity and admiration of lead, Tim Robinson (who I was utterly unfamiliar with). Funny for about 20 minutes... unsustainable as a feature film. Paul Rudd is adorable as always.
Leave it to the Japanese to tell the story of filmmaking, both from a process and creative viewpoint, through first a manga, then an anime film. By and large, it works, although it kind of wraps filmmaking into one giant ball, blending major blockbusters with creative, artistic filmmaking; something that sadly doesn't happen much anymore. It was fascinating to see the process of making a film so nicely explained, and the artistic side was effective as well, but clothed in…
I fell prey to the POV trickery that distanced me from the emotional core of the story. The twist was kind of sloppy too.
Samurai honor vs. yakuza mobsterism, and the hero Zatoichi is born.
Haven't seen this film in over 25 years, but man, does it hold up. Other than the fact that the web wasn't really around when it first came out, so the idea of recording people talking about sex on video does seem rather... quaint. High marks to the screenplay in this film... Soderbergh's dialog is amazing. And I've got to say, all four principles: James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Laura San Giacomo and Peter Gallagher, do a really great job.
Patricia Clarkson's star-performance, and effective use of historical news footage elevate Rachel Feldman's narrative feature debut about Alabama-resident Lilly Ledbetter who sued her employer, Goodyear for unfair pay and discrimination based on gender. It's an undeniably powerful story that leans a little bit into TV movie territory, but you ca't deny the power of seeing this strong, intelligent woman from the Alabama countryside take on a behemoth. Nice performance by Thomas Sadowski as the first lawyer to take Lilly's case.
Screened at Provincetown Film Society's Women's Week series.
Great animation and a sweet, emotional story about friendship, loss, and how life goes on.
It earns one star from the brilliant, meta-musical opening number that features the stars of the film, along with the composers and a small chorus singing, "Now we may start." Sadly, my excitement from this bravura opening spiraled away fairly quickly as the film then proceeded to drag on for 140 minutes with so little to offer, other than frustration and annoyance, that I could barely scrape up another half a cat. Thank God for PATERSON, so I can at least enjoy one of Adam Driver's performances. And Marion Cotillard was pretty flat in a thankless role.
INTIMACY is based on short stories by Hanif Kureishi, and therein lies its largest flaw. There were several characters and/or situations that seemed to have been mined from various stories that didn't fit, or interrupted the flow of the main story. Two people meet each Wednesday and have sex. Their interactions are purely physical, with little or no conversation between them.
Mark Rylance (ANGELS & INSECTS) plays Jay, a divorced man, adrift and emotionally detached. Kerry Fox (AN ANGEL AT MY…
Great to watch Paul Newman and Geraldine tear through this Tennessee Williams melodrama, and it's strangely timely for today's world.
Expectations were high for MOGUL MOWGLI, after the success of SOUND OF METAL, the last film Riz Ahmed starred in, sharing the Trudy for Best Actor with AND THEN WE DANCED’s Levan Gelbakhiani, with many similarities; it’s about a musician who suffers a debilitating ailment. Sadly, MOGUL MOWGLI suffers greatly from more is less syndrome. Add to the examination of Riz Ahmed’s Zed as an immigrant, and a rap artist, an auto-immune disease that attacks Zed’s muscular system, with a…
I would have loved this film if Greta Lee had been playing the lead role.