Top Ten Films: 2001

This is it. This is my final retroactive Top 10 list, because it is my first.

Top Ten Films: 2006

Continuing my retroactive Top 10 lists, this one takes us back to 2006, originally published in my “Confessions of a Dangerous Film Student” column in INsite Boston.

A Divorce: Farhadi Repeats Himself In ‘The Past’

A quarreling couple. A troublesome pregnancy. A deceitful employee. A daughter who knows more than she lets on. If this all sounds familiar, you probably saw A Separation, the 2011 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film (a first for Iran). Or maybe you saw the newly-released The Past, Asghar Farhadi’s follow-up to that […]

The Dark Bond Rises: ‘Skyfall’ Lifts 007 To New Heights

Fifty years of James Bond. Can you believe it? Of course you can. In a way, it’s surprising that we’ve only had fifty years of James Bond, because he’s such a relic. The more everything changes, the more he stays the same. Sure, the franchise has made a few minor efforts to update him for […]

Lady Looks Like A Dude (Kinda): ‘Albert Nobbs’ Is A Drag

(Films discussed in this post: Jane Eyre, Restless, Albert Nobbs.)Best Actress is one of few categories this year in which there is much suspense about who the winner will be. This year’s Academy Award nominations went primarily for established actresses in material that received mixed reviews — The Iron Lady, My Week With Marilyn, The […]

The Seven Day Itch: Boy Meets Icon In ‘My Week With Marilyn’

For an introduction to My Week With Marilyn, you need only read my review of J. Edgar. It’s the same story. An oft-nominated, never-prized actor makes a bid for Oscar gold by playing a famous personality; sadly, the performance is better than the movie, and they go home empty-handed. (Now, I’m not saying Michelle Williams […]

Hoover Damned: ‘J. Edgar’ Sheds Light On A Closetful Of Skeletons

Want an Academy Award? It’s no secret — playing a real person is the surest way to find Oscar gold. Just ask Colin Firth, Sandra Bullock, Sean Penn, Helen Mirren, Reese Witherspoon, Charlize Theron, Forest Whitaker, Nicole Kidman, Jamie Foxx, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Marion Cotillard. (And that’s only from Best Actor/Actress categories in the […]