Natalie Portman joins the ranks of great movie crazy ladies
I wish I could hang out in lobbies all over the country as screenings of “Black Swan” are letting out. “Sophisticated” New York metro area audiences are flipping out at Darren Aronofsky’s intense and...
View ArticleRent it now: ‘Pretty Poison’ starring the elusive Tuesday Weld
Hollywood got very nervous about movie violence in 1968 as a result of the terrible events of that year. In 1967, “Bonnie and Clyde” was condemned in some quarters for glamorizing violence, so when...
View Article‘Political Animals’: the Clintons in a cracked mirror
The new six part USA series “Political Animals” is likely to raise more than a few hackles because of its tasteless but very gripping reimagining of the Clintons and the contemporary political scene. I...
View Article‘Alex in Wonderland’ shows Hollywood in 1970s breakdown mode
As a movie, the 1970 Paul Mazursky comedy “Alex in Wonderland” is only so-so, but for students of Hollywood it’s a vivid time capsule of a transition period in film history. The very eccentric and...
View ArticleThoughts on seeing ‘Frances Ha’ in an empty multiplex
Is there room for Greta Gerwig in today’s mainstream Hollywood? I finally caught up with the Noah Baumbach movie, “Frances Ha,” and was charmed by its warm and sometimes romantic take on an aspiring...
View ArticleKaren Black honored with two New York retrospectives
Although her later years were spent out of the Hollywood mainstream, Karen Black was a central figure in the film revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Starting with a small but noticeable role in the...
View ArticleLavish ‘Retrospective’ looks at Scorsese’s turbulent career
The text is as strong as the images in the lavish new Abrams coffee table book, “Martin Scorsese: A Retrospective.” Former Sunday Times of London film critic Tom Shone, who now teaches at New York...
View Article‘Scenes from a Marriage’: quality TV pioneer
The centenary of Ingmar Bergman’s birth has been celebrated with a number of events this year, including a retrospective at Film Forum, a new Criterion Collection boxed set, and the addition of many...
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