HollywoodandFine.com Francois Ozon’s “In the House,” opening Friday (4/19/13) in limited release, gets in your head, slowly at first, then with greater and greater speed. Initially seeming like a comedy about the vicarious voyeurism of a literature teacher at a Paris high school, it casually transforms itself into something else: …
HollywoodandFine.com Jacob Hatley’s documentary about the late Levon Helm (who died in 2012) is a flinty valedictory to a rough-hewn but cagey and soulful musician. “Ain’t In It For My Health” is a title that comes with two meanings. One is the issue of Helm’s mortality, on painful display in …
HollywoodandFine.com Brian Helgeland’s “42” is an old-fashioned film in the most modern sense of the term. Even as it embraces big-screen storytelling that takes us back to a golden era of history, it gives uplift without ignoring the pain and sacrifice that went into the achievements being depicted. This story …
HollywoodandFine.com If Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” was too much the dialogue-driven, story-heavy film for your liking, you’ll probably be more in the mood for his latest, “To the Wonder,” which features Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams and Olga Kurylenko in its cast. I hesitate to say that it stars …
HollywoodandFine.com “Disconnect” is in the “Crash”/ “Nashville”/ “Short Cuts” school of story-telling, bringing together three disparate storylines that ultimately provide echoes and resonance between themselves, while involving people of tangential connection. But in Henry-Alex Rubin’s film, from Andrew Stern’s script, the connections – or the way they’re made – is …
HollywoodandFine.com Danny Boyle is one of those filmmakers – like Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese – who obviously enjoys every minute of making his movies, including editing the last, most minute detail. His films pop and jump with energy and excitement – even when they’re not actually showing something exciting. …
HollywoodandFine.com There aren’t many filmmakers creating the kind of chewy, talkative dramas about real issues that used to be a staple of movie-going because, well, the audience willing to sit still for them is aging out and dying off. So bless Robert Redford: While “The Company You Keep” can’t sustain …
HollywoodandFine.com I will admit that, when it screened at the New York Film Festival a few years ago, I walked out of Antonio Campos’ “Afterschool” after about 30 minutes. And it colored my willingness to see his newest film, “Simon Killer,” opening Friday in limited release. But “Simon Killer” surprised …
HollywoodandFine.com People often debate situational ethics: Under what circumstances would an unethical act be ethical? Always an intriguing question. But what about situational movie standards? We’re talking about whether there’s ever a time when a bad movie should be given a pass because, well, it’s not as bad as it …
HollywoodandFine.com Andrew Niccol’s film of “The Host” starts so well that, when it suddenly slows to a crawl 20 minutes later, your impulse is to give it some slack – to let it find its feet and get back on track. Unfortunately, it never does. So what you end up …