After the Wedding is a rare film that is solely for mature sensibilities, no special effects, guns or killing. Powerful performances by Oscar-winner Julianne Moore and four-time nominee Michelle Williams are its selling point. If you don’t mind a script full of “only in the movies” plot twists, it’s also an engaging drama. Filmmaker Bart Freundlich […]
Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” was one of the most buzzed-about films at Sundance 2019 and that it’s no surprise it’s already breaking box office records in limited release. The film’s ingenious tagline, “Based on an actual lie” originated from a story aired on Guy Raz’s NPR show “This American Life.” Wang’s original screenplay, a likely Oscar
“American Woman” opens with a scene from the recent past of a mother who had her daughter so young that she becomes more of a best friend to her daughter than a mother. You might think you can size up Jake Scott’s latest film by that first act, but “American Woman” evolves into something else entirely.
Photograph is very similar to writer/director Ritesh Batra’s previous film, The Lunchbox in its quiet love story where the protagonists are unassuming people who manage to fall into each other’s world quite by accident. In this production, Mumbai street photographer Rafi (Siddiqui) takes a picture of Miloni (Malhotra), but after she has paid for it, she gets distracted and
Television and documentary screenwriter Ben Elton fills in the gaps of William Shakespeare’s later life with drama and intrigue. His first acting and directing gig since “Murder on the Orient Express,” Kenneth Branagh is nearly unrecognizable as the famous poet and playwright. Together Elton and Branagh present a unique dive into the lesser-known facets of
Director Edward Zwick has a befuddling filmography. He has directed large scale projects like “The Last Samurai” and “Blood Diamond.” Classics like “Legends of the Fall” and “Glory.” He has also helmed misfires like “Love & Other Drugs” and the “Jack Reacher” sequel. Zwick’s latest, “Trial By Fire,” is a glorified television quality movie if
For “The Lord of the Rings” fans, Dome Karukoski’s “Tolkien” might work as a way of celebrating the brilliant author and fantasy creator in which popular franchises “Harry Potter” and “Game of Thrones” have both been inspired from. The script assumes the audience’s familiarity with ‘Rings,’ expecting you to pick up on which people and
Is 76-year-old Mike Leigh’s latest film “Peterloo” the most mundane film you will see this year? Probably. Which explains why it didn’t sell at last year’s Toronto Film Festival and is only now hitting theaters seven months later. Leigh’s argument that the events of “Peterloo” are more relevant today than ever before is quite correct.
This period drama set in Hungary just before World War I contains no discernable plot, although it continuously gives the viewer the sense that something really big is going on or about to happen. The protagonist Irisz (Jakab) has returned to Budapest to her parents’ old hat shop (actually, a high-end millinery), but she is not
Already gaining a reputation as one of the most sobering and depressing movies of the year, “Diane” takes viewers on a journey of goodbyes. Written specifically for actress Mary Kay Place, she is the latest actor to get a juicy leading role for her swan song. Like Sam Elliott in “The Hero,” Harry Dean Stanton