Movie Review: Tomb Raider

Though Tomb Raider starring Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, is a diversion, a simple entertainment, it gave us nothing new. It’s a competent film by competent filmmakers, who colored within the lines, stamped a MPAA rating on it, and packaged it in a candy bar wrapper. It’s mass-produced fluff. I went to see it because… Continue reading Movie Review: Tomb Raider

Song to Song Revisited

The reader might remember that in my first review of Song to Song, I felt uncertain whether I liked it or not. I promised to revisit the movie in a month’s time, after it set with me for awhile, and watch it again. On the eve of that second viewing, I found myself excited to… Continue reading Song to Song Revisited

Movie Review: Black Panther

Captain America Civil War introduced T’Challa a.k.a. Black Panther. He’s a prince of the African nation of Wakanda, who became the king when his father was killed in a terrorist bombing. He’s also Black Panther, the protector of his people. In the build-up to Black Panther’s release, I realized that T’Challa’s character arc from Civil… Continue reading Movie Review: Black Panther

Video Review: Diary of a Chambermaid (2015)

Octave Mirbeau’s The Diary of a Chambermaid, published in 1900, is often considered an erotic classic, but in its pages, there’s as much social commentary, if not more, as there is sex. Much of the commentary comes from the Dreyfus Affair, which exposed antisemitism in turn-of-the-century France, but the novel also compares and contrasts the… Continue reading Video Review: Diary of a Chambermaid (2015)

Movie Review: Hostiles

Hostiles begins brutal and it remains brutal throughout its runtime. It’s a story about war and the men and women who experience it. The Indian Wars are over, but the cultural conflicts and land disputes that ignited them remain, as do racial hatred and distrust. The film tells a personal story about Captain Joseph J.… Continue reading Movie Review: Hostiles

Movie Review: Lady Bird

Since this is the third week in a roll when my choice of movie is an Oscar contender for Best Picture, the reader would be forgiven if he or she thought I was surveying Oscar nominees. I assure you I have no such desire or intention. Since the Oscars are the most anticipated and watched… Continue reading Movie Review: Lady Bird

Movie Review: Phantom Thread

As the movie ended and the credits rolled, the theater emptied out fast, as if the audience couldn’t wait to escape. I don’t think Phantom Thread went over well with my fellow moviegoers, and after they left, I sat in the empty auditorium and watched the credits and pondered what I thought. I knew it… Continue reading Movie Review: Phantom Thread

Movie Review: The Post

Tom Hanks! Meryl Streep! Steven Spielberg directing! A political drama in the Age of Trump the reminds us of the importance of Freedom of the Press and the duty for news organizations to make public what the government wants kept secret! I went to The Post with high expectations. I didn’t expect a good movie;… Continue reading Movie Review: The Post