Pretty As A Picture: ‘Big Eyes’ & ‘Ida’ Provide A Visual Feast

Art is subjective. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A picture is worth a thousand words. And everybody — I mean everybody — is a critic.

Screen Full Of Sugar: Disney’s Accidentally Meta ‘Mr. Banks’

Why is P.L. Travers such a bitch? That’s the question central to Saving Mr. Banks, and it’s up to Walt Disney, of all people, to solve the mystery. Movies like this one can be challenging, because the whole key to the problem of the movie is, “Just stop being a bitch!” Too often, this journey […]

Sun, Moon, & Stars: Wes Anderson’s A-List ‘Kingdom’

Is there a director with a more distinct signature than Wes Anderson? His meticulous mise-en-scene has spawned a slew of copycats; the word “twee” might have been created specifically to refer to his brand of filmmaking. Fantastic Mr. Fox was one of my Top 10 Films of 2009, but beyond that, the Anderson ouvre has […]

Top Ten Films: 2009

Continuing my retrospective Top 10 lists… Okay, so this was the year the Oscars got on my nerves for announcing ten Best Picture nominees. (And judging by what was included in those ten, I think we can all agree that I was right to be irked… which is some vindication, at least.)