The Bloody Road to Boredom: A Review of “Bonnie and Clyde”

Following the release of Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, Bosley Crowther, film critic of the New York Times for 27 years, wrote a short but devastating review. In it he called the movie “a cheap piece of bald-faced slapstick comedy that treats the … Read more →

A Delightful Christmas Chestnut: A Review of “A Christmas Carol”

Perhaps the greatest joy of the Christmas season for a young person lies in the delicious anticipation, in the events, rituals, traditions, and the sounds and smells that contribute to the build-up of excitement that peaks on Christmas morning. For … Read more →

A Life of Service, To An Empty Ideal: A Review of “The Remains of the Day”

I love the writing of British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro. Of the several novels I have read, The Remains of the Day, the story of a blindly devoted English butler whose misguided loyalty to his profession and to his master have led to a wasted life, is … Read more →

A Romantic Journey to Truth: A Review of “Midnight in Paris”

I saw this Woody Allen movie twice this summer and was moved each time by the beautifully imagined and realized journeys into Paris of the 1920s and, more briefly, of La Belle Époque taken by the protagonist Gil Pender (played by Owen Wilson), a … Read more →

Bleak House of God: A Review of “True Confessions”

Here is what New York Times critic Vincent Camby wrote about True Confessions when the movie came out in September 1981: “Quite simply it's one of the most entertaining, most intelligent and most thoroughly satisfying commercial American films in a … Read more →

Love Me Do: A Review of “Backbeat”

I adore this movie. Partly for the simple reason that I believe it is a thoughtful and well crafted meditation on love, destiny, and growth; partly because every viewing experience is coloured by what I know is going to happen, both in the film’s … Read more →

It’s Complicated – And Funny, and Sweet: A Review of “It’s Complicated”

Jane (Meryl Streep) and Jake (Alec Baldwin) have been divorced for ten years. He’s remarried, to a younger woman; she’s still single. His marriage is not going the way he had imagined it would; she’s a little lonely now that the last of their three children has moved out from Mom’s. He still has feelings for her; she’s just vulnerable—well, maybe she still cares for him a little as well.

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Movies: In Praise of the “Little Story”

I am aware that most adults go to the movies or watch them at home in order to be entertained, to briefly escape, perhaps, from their stressful or humdrum lives. I spent more than a few years as a member of this group and certainly sympathize with … Read more →

Oh, Henry! A Review of “Becket” and “The Lion in Winter”

These two films—Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968)—star Peter O’Toole (propelled to the limelight by his stunning big-screen debut as T.E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia) as England’s powerful Norman king, Henry II. In Becket, Henry … Read more →

Divine Decadence: A Review of “Cabaret”

This classic 1972 film is the last of the great musicals. But unlike Singin’ in the Rain, My Fair Lady, and West Side Story, Bob Fosse’s Cabaret is much more than the sum of its memorable tunes. In fact, Cabaret concocts a rich and satisfying … Read more →