Heller empowers through recent film
I saw “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” right after watching Noah Baumbach’s “Mistress America”, and when my friend and I finally left the theater we spent the subway ride…
movie
Problematic writing inhibits spies’ comedy
Directed by Matthew Vaughn, “Kingsman: The Secret Service” is a mixture of action and comedy, sophistication and fatuity. With spectacular imagery, the film is an excellent choice for recreation; however,…
Film’s super-power cinematography soars with success
Leading the Academy Awards this year with 9 nominations, it was no surprise that “Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, brought home four prestigious…
No grey area: ‘Fifty Shades’ falls flat with unconvincing, passionless performances
Face it, everyone, you all saw “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Don’t try to lie about it, we all know it’s true. As one of the most-hyped movies in recent years,…
‘Mommy’ exemplifies cinematic perfection
Once every few years, one will come across a work of art so breathtaking, so gorgeous and so perfect that it defies categorization. The experience of viewing Xavier Dolan’s ecstatic,…
Frankie Valli’s magic captured on screen
Released in November on DVD and Blu-ray and the first of two Clint Eastwood-directed films in 2014 (along with the upcoming “American Sniper”), “Jersey Boys” is Eastwood’s gayest film since,…
Nolan’s continuation of detached visual style disappoints
“Very graceful” “No…but very efficient” So goes an interaction between two characters midway through Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar,” a film which manages neither grace nor efficiency in its practical-minded staidness and…
‘John Wick’ refreshes fatigued formula with aesthetic pleasures, loopy style
Wryly, not smugly self-aware and with a self-mythologizing streak that is playful and maybe even convincing rather than bloated or self-important, “John Wick” is a strange bird. A seemingly disposable…
‘Dazed’ continues to hold sway
Movies are a medium which relies on youth. Precisely because of this, countless youth-centered entertainments fill up screens across America each year. But these aren’t really about youth so much…
Film examines heart of hedonistic Italy
I had never seen a stage performance quite like one that a female character gives in the film “The Great Beauty.” As the girl takes the stage, clad in her…