White Men Can’t Jump (2023)
Lame ‘White Men’ remake clangs off the rim A playground staple, the game of H-O-R-S-E is all about copying shot after shot. You miss, you lose. So it is with the utterly unnecessary remake of “White Men Can’t Jump.” It misses an attempt to replicate the spark and originality of Ron Shelton’s 1992 smash in […]
Persian Lessons (2023)
‘Persian Lessons’ speaks a universal language Plagued by contrivance and implausibility, “Persian Lessons” nonetheless capitalizes on a pair of highly credible performances to emerge a hard-to-forget Holocaust tale in which memory is both a prisoner’s bane and his best means of survival. His name is Gilles, a rabbi’s son from Antwerp first seen en route […]
Oscar-Nominated Shorts (2023)
Several Oscar shorts come up big In advance of the March 12 Academy Awards ceremony, you’ll want to check out this year’s 15 nominees in the three “Shorts” categories: Animation, Live Action and Documentary. They deal with subjects ranging from climate change to misogyny to the glories of friendship, seeking to find light amid the […]
Shotgun Wedding (2023)
Insipid ‘Wedding’ strands J.Lo at the altar It’s been a January to remember for Jennifer Coolidge, scoring wins at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards for her work on HBO’s “White Lotus.” But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. And for the Norwell native, it crashes and burns amid […]
Corsage (2022)
Krieps royally funny in risque ‘Corsage’ Since her breakout performance in P.T. Anderson’s “Phantom Thread,” filmmakers haven’t quite figured out how to fully utilize Vicky Krieps. At least not until writer-director Marie Kreutzer came along with “Corsage,” a delicious offering in which Krieps excels as the beleaguered, sex-starved Empress Elizabeth of Austria. It’s set mainly […]
Broker (2022)
You’ll be sold on ‘Broker’ Continuing his reflections on what defines a family, writer-director Hirokazu Kore-eda delivers another mini-masterpiece in which love and criminality meld into a brazen attempt to steal your heart. Yes, he’s repeating many of the themes introduced in his Oscar-nominated “Shoplifters,” but if the formula works, why modify it? Instead of […]
A Man Called Otto (2022)
With Hanks, it’s hard to be ‘Otto’-immune Tom Hanks gets in touch with his inner Larry David as the curmudgeonly sexegenarian at the heart of Marc Forster’s lukewarm English-language remake of Hannes Holm’s Oscar-nominated “A Man Called Ova.” Hanks is in full get-off-my-lawn mode as Otto Anderson, the self-appointed caretaker of his quaint Pittsburgh apartment […]
The Whale (2022)
Bloated ‘Whale’ goes belly up There’s much ado about Brendan Fraser’s king-sized portrayal of a doomed 600-pound Idahoan college professor in “The Whale.” But the stagey, often ridiculous movie he’s wedged into, alas, is thin as a rail. Surprising, since it’s the usually competent Darren Aronofsky (“Black Swan”) at the helm. He does the best […]
Women Talking (2022)
‘Women Talking’ has much to say about abuse For centuries, men have used religion as a means of wielding control over women. In essence, “keeping them in their place” as servants to administer to their needs for sustenance, sexual fulfillment and progeny. Lodge a single protest and consider your ticket to heaven null and void. […]
Living (2022)
Bill Nighy breathes life into ‘Living’ Living and dying. The diametric terms are not necessarily mutually exclusive. In fact, they walk hand-in-hand for some as they navigate life, futilely attempting to make sense of their existence. Should our ideal objective during our short stay on Earth be a greater reward in the afterlife? Or, is […]