Persistence Of Vision: ‘Empire Of Light’ & ‘The Fabelmans’

Movies that recreate a filmmaker’s own formative years are practically a genre unto themselves. Most awards seasons of late have had at least one in the conversation. (Lady Bird, Roma, and Belfast are some of the most lauded recent examples.) This year, there’s a whole slate of them. James Gray’s Armageddon Time looked at the […]

Read More Persistence Of Vision: ‘Empire Of Light’ & ‘The Fabelmans’

Top Ten Films: 2021

I’m worried. I’m sure you are, too. It’s been a rollercoaster couple of years to be a film fan (along with everything else). 2019 was a stronger-than-average year at the movies, with sprawling, hearty, career-capping epics from major auteurs like Scorsese (The Irishman) and Tarantino (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood), ambitious, adult-oriented big screen […]

Read More Top Ten Films: 2021

Top Ten Films: 2020

“We are gathered here today in remembrance of The Motion Picture. To bid it adieu, and to share some of our fondest memories from its final year. Thank you very much to Netflix for providing the catering at this difficult time.” That’s how I opened last year’s top ten list — with a mock eulogy […]

Read More Top Ten Films: 2020

Best Of The Decade: 2010s

A decade at the movies is serious business. When the 2010s began, Avatar had just opened in theaters. It went on to top the all-time box office and spawned the short-lived resurgence of 3D, a fad that has mostly died out (again). Netflix, then known for its DVD rental services, was just beginning to expand […]

Read More Best Of The Decade: 2010s

In The Rough: ‘Uncut Gems’

Adam Sandler is a likable guy. I don’t know why. I avoid nearly every movie he’s in — usually, tepid broad comedies, always playing up the signature appeal that’s been his brand since Saturday Night Live. Sandler has gotten serious on us before, flexing dramatic muscles in films like Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Spanglish (2004), Funny […]

Read More In The Rough: ‘Uncut Gems’

Origins Of Love: ‘Genesis’ & ‘Pain & Glory’

The words “Pedro Almodóvar” and “semi-autobiographical” are used together often, particularly when mentioning his strongest and most popular works — Bad Education, Volver, and the Oscar-winning All About My Mother amongst them. So it’s notable that the Spanish filmmaker’s latest, Pain & Glory, is said to be his most autobiographical film. Almodóvar returns to the rich […]

Read More Origins Of Love: ‘Genesis’ & ‘Pain & Glory’