“Mary Queen of Scots” Dwells on Luridness More than Facts
The story of the rivalry between Mary Stuart, the Catholic ruler of Scotland, and Elizabeth I, the Protestant queen of England, is a complex and enthralling one concerning power, religion, and womanhood in the 16th century. When those themes show up onscreen in Mary Queen of Scots, the film feels immediate and vital. Unfortunately, too […]
“If Beale Street Could Talk” Speaks of the Black Experience in Poetry and Pain
One of the first rules of screenwriting is, “Show, don’t tell.” However, when you’re adapting author James Baldwin’s marvelous novel If Beale Street Could Talk for the screen, an exception has to be made. Baldwin’s writing is so sublime that to ignore his way with words would rob the story of too much of what […]
“Ralph Breaks the Internet” Lampoons Life Online (and Disney too!)
Wreck-It Ralph was a hit for Disney in 2012, making fun of video games and stunted adolescence. Six years later, its sequel hits the theaters and is the rare one that equals its predecessor. In many ways, the internet is even more ripe for parody than video games, and Ralph Breaks the Internet skewers its […]
“Widows” Adds Character and Depth to The Heist Genre
Audiences have gotten used to heist movies being buoyant and comedic, what with the likes of the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy and other caper movies over the decades. Now, Widows shatters all those expectations with a gravely serious heist drama that is less interested in the intricacies of the scheme and far more so in the […]
“A Private War” is a Timely Reminder of the Necessity of Journalism
In a week when the POTUS continued to rail on the press corps as “the enemy of the people” and rudely maligned some reporters, along comes a film about journalist Marie Colvin that couldn’t be timelier. The story of her intrepid career is the focus of A Private War, particularly the many conflicts in the […]
