HollywoodandFine.com The past, as William Faulkner famously wrote, “is never dead. It’s not even past.” Or, as Paul Thomas Anderson said in his film “Magnolia,” “We may be through with the past – but the past ain’t through with us.” That’s a lesson the Catholic Church seems to learn repeatedly. …
HollywoodandFine.com Hayao Miyazaki has been a critical darling as an animator almost since his films started being imported to the U.S. He’s been hailed as a master and even given an Oscar for “Spirited Away.” Having announced his retirement, he’s made one final feature: “The Wind Rises,” which is getting …
HollywoodandFine.com The story is right there in the title of Alex Gibney’s furious new documentary: “The Armstrong Lie.” Gibney, as probing a documentarian as is working today, is obviously not the only person who’s angry at Lance Armstrong. The seven-time Tour de France victor disappointed millions of fans by routinely …
HollywoodandFine.com Hannah Fidell’s “A Teacher,” opening in limited release this week, is exactly the kind of movie I love to discover at film festivals: small, low-budget, without famous faces – but with a strong dramatic vision and the intelligence to carry it out with minimal resources. It seems like a …
HollywoodandFine.com “In A World” announces the arrival of a new triple-threat talent: Lake Bell, already established as an actress. She wrote and directed (and produced) this new film, which was a delight at Sundance and arrives in the dog days of summer like a cool breeze. Bell plays Carol, who’s …
HollywoodandFine.com It’s the rare teen-ager who can see beyond tomorrow. While they may worry about the future, they tend to live in the moment because, among other things, they feel immortal and most have little evidence to the contrary. Certainly that’s the case with Sutter Keely (Miles Teller), the high-school …
HollywoodandFine.com Geoffrey Fletcher’s filmmaking debut, “Violet & Daisy,” is the summer’s oddest, most original treat. Imagine a script by Quentin Tarantino, directed by Wes Anderson – and you have an idea of just how deliciously surprising this film can be. It opens Friday (6/7/13) in limited release. The opening scene …
HollywoodandFine.com “Fill the Void” is as interesting for the things it doesn’t do as for what it does. Written and directed by Rama Burshtein and set in the Hasidic community of Tel Aviv, it’s a story about family and a sense of duty, informed by a devout faith. The faith …
HollywoodandFine.com This apparently is the week for multiple unnecessary sequels, with “The Hangover Part III” going up against “Fast & Furious 6” (twice as uncalled-for) for that all-important teen-age dollar. So I’ll give the same “meh” response to “H3” as I did to “Iron Man 3”: better than the second …
HollywoodandFine.com South Korean cinema has exploded internationally in the past decade or so. I won’t speculate about how South Korean society informs the consciousness of its filmmakers because, well, we probably only see a fraction of the output. It would be like basing your opinions of American culture on the …