A Real Pain
A Real Pain is a dramedy written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg. David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) are cousins. They've always had a close relationship. But Benji has had…
Black Box Diaries
I happened to watch Black Box Diaries on the same day that dozens of guilty verdicts came down in a high-profile drugging-and-rape trial in France. The victim, Gisele Pelicot, had…
All We Imagine As Light
Set in the hectic city of Mumbai, All We Imagine as Light is a story of sisterhood. Head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) lives with younger, recently hired nurse Anu (Divya…
A Complete Unknown
Without a doubt one of the most influential American musicians of the twentieth century, Bob Dylan is the focus of A Complete Unknown, from his arrival in New York in…
September 5
As a control room producer in a previous life, September 5 left me feeling nostalgic for the adrenaline rush that comes with bearing witness to history in real time while…
The Fire Inside
I was in the mood for something uplifting, not too arty or intense, and under two hours. The Fire Inside fit the bill. Plus, I had no clue about the…
The Last Showgirl
I guess most of us know Pamela Anderson as either a Playboy pinup or as one of the Baywatch babes. Not a lot of depth, just a lot of sex…
Heretic
Hugh Grant is one of my favorite actors. Charming, curmudgeonly, silly, sometimes all three at once. Turning those attributes on their heads in the psychological horror flick Heretic he invites…
Blitz
Academy Award winning director Steve McQueen who burst onto the scene with 12 Years a Slave and continued to shine with the wonderful "Small Axe" series has returned with a…
Wicked
I’ll refrain from calling the film ’wicked good,’ as the hype may drive expectations a bit too far. But it is fair to say that Wicked is faithful to the…
Thelma
I’m late to the party on this nonagenarian action-comedy, but better late than never! June Squibb (Nebraska) is an absolute gem as Thelma Post, a feisty 93-year-old grandmother who falls…
We Live in Time
Time is fleeting; and so is memory where this romantic drama is concerned. It simply did not stick with me. In fact, I struggled to remember the title within minutes…
Conclave
Ever wonder how a new pope gets elected? Conclave seeks to pull back the curtain on the ancient, covert affair. On the surface, watching a bunch of sequestered Cardinals bickering…
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Christopher Reeve got me out of jury duty. Long story short, I had interviewed Reeve by phone a few years after he was paralyzed in a freak horse-riding accident. He…
The Substance
Women age, but rarely gracefully in the eyes of our celebrity obsessed public. A wrinkle here, a gray hair there, and we're relegated to the dustbin in favor of the…