ARGO was over and I was still waiting for it to take off. The situation was clear, the conflict intense, and even the Iranian rage understandable, rendered with justifiable logic. But the six embassy workers hiding for their lives seemed like a never ending series of jittery close-ups. Dialogue defined their type without taking the time for us to get this group as individuals. What makes this story, based on fantastic reality, a possible powerhouse of ironic suspense is the…

In the beginning, a search through majestic locations for the origin of the species was envisioned; and Scott said, we will take our time; we will excite a sense of awe and wonder in those who witness these sights; and make the masses hunger for mystery, for mystical revelations, for transcendence!

So it is written; so it is ... well, no.

The movie we start out with, the one that takes its time setting up particular characters and relationships and…

The woman who wrote and stared in a play performed on Broadway called SEX, and even went to jail on a public obscenity charge over it, would presumably not have an easy time of it in the movies. But Mae West, the top comedienne of her time, could take the simplest line and load it for bear! This simple, silly movie would probably be lost on most of the younger viewers out there because the path that West help forged…

Watching Walter Matthau and Elaine May play these two wacky characters makes A NEW LEAF feel like one long privileged moment. Privileged and funny. May's dialogue is, as always, brittle and super smart; her acrobatic turns of a phrase will take you by surprise, with punchlines you never see coming. But it's the way Matthau's aging rich boy physically assists the clumsy May that makes the movie truly special. This is highbrow low-comedy at its finest; these two turn physical…