The Not-Oscars 2016

It’s just about Oscar time again — though for once, the Best Picture race isn’t exactly the most disappointing contest I’ll witness over the past year. At times like these, the Academy Awards feel somewhat frivolous. It’s possible that some likely winners — The Salesman, Mahershala Ali, The White Helmets, OJ: Made In America, and even […]

Top Ten Films: 2016

Another year, another awards season. But this was no ordinary year. Where to begin, when we speak of 2016? Most years, I just pick my favorite films, and that’s it. But this year, it felt important to really think about these choices, and what they expressed about my feelings this year. That’s not to say […]

The Perils Of Being A Wallflower: Outcasts Pay In ‘Indignation’

Forgive me. I know it seems much too early to talk about the Oscars, but we’re getting into that time of year now. So far, 2016 has been all but entirely barren of buzzworthy performances. I have a small handful of favorites, but only one or two that are certain to make the cut on […]

Top Ten Films: 2014

It was a very good year at the movies… but a weird one. Reversing the trend of recent years, the summer blockbuster fare offered a surprising amount of good taste, from the goofy-fun Guardians Of The Galaxy to the surprisingly clever Edge Of Tomorrow. Even sequels like Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes and […]

Los Angeles Flays Itself: Cronenberg Tours Hollywood In ‘Maps To The Stars’

If you live in or around Hollywood, you’re likely to see open-top buses filled with tourists, taking a tour of your home like it’s Disneyland. I happen to live near a lot of the attractions on these tours — places that are pretty ordinary to me, but can still be sold as part of the […]

Bread And Circuses: What The Hell Is ‘Enemy’ About?

Enemy is one of my favorite films of this year. But not everyone feels that way. The film’s surprising and confounding ending has left many scratching their heads, searching for meaning. I know, because it has led them here.

The Two Jakes: Bugs, Blondes & Blueberries Are The ‘Enemy’

In cinema, there are twist endings… and then there are endings that are so twisted, so gnarled, so completely screwed up they leave you sitting in the theater with your mouth hanging open puzzling over what the hell just happened until the end credits are over. Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy has such an ending.

‘Cosmopolis’: Not An Aphrodisiac

If you’re a happy, well-adjusted person, never go on a date with me. Just don’t. I don’t mean because I, myself, am such a morose individual — I’m not. But my cinematic picks can be real downers. I can’t help it! I like heavy-hitting dramas, acting tour-de-forces. I like walking out of a theater feeling […]