People complained that free blacks were given short shrift in Lincoln; that the Canadians had more involvement in the escape from Iran that was depicted in Argo; that Alfred wasn’t as cartoonish as he was shown in Hitchcock and torture was over-emphasized in Zero Dark Thirty. But so far, there hasn’t been too much buzz…
I saw about 75 movies in 2012, and while I saw a couple dozen that I liked a great deal, very few movies about LGBT people or queer themes were given a wide release. And that is disappointing in general, but particularly for a critic writing for a paper called San Diego LGBT Weekly. This…
Last week, the San Diego Film Critics Society, of which I am a member, chose Argo as the best film of the year. It also won best director (Ben Affleck), best adapted screenplay (Chris Terrio), and best editing (William Goldenberg). While that movie was released more than two months ago, many of the movies that…
Washington (CNN) – As the horrific shootings in Newtown, Connecticut remain fresh in the minds of Americans, a big question is whether the deaths of 20 young children at Sandy Hook Elementary School will impact public opinion on gun control. Two new polls conducted immediately after Friday’s tragedy indicates that the shootings may be changing…
While John Kennedy and Bill Clinton’s sexual shenanigans have been the butt of decades of jokes and one impeachment trial, compared to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his multiple long-term mistresses – one of whom was his cousin – Kennedy and Clinton were amateurs. FDR may be one of our greatest presidents, leading the country from…
Few directors have had a run of brilliance that Alfred Hitchcock had in between 1958 and 1963, when he directed in succession Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho and The Birds; four of the greatest films ever made. But surprisingly, Hitchcock was still racked by self-doubt during that period, terrified that he was not good enough;…
Last week, after enduring 25 minutes (I timed it) of commercials, I saw one film; furthermore, a Coke and a tiny bag of popcorn cost more than the ticket. Leaving the mall’s 13-theater complex, I thought about what it was like before the malls mushroomed across the nation and destroyed the vibrant downtown area of…
Mesa, Ariz. (CNN) — Two Arizona high school students were forced to hold hands in front of their classmates as punishment this week for fighting. Now that punishment is drawing criticism. The students at Westwood High in Mesa, Ariz. were apparently given the option to hold hands instead of being suspended. “Kids were laughing at…
No one could hope that Rises could ever be as good as The Dark Knight, which is inarguably the best superhero movie ever made. The main problem with Rises is that director Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan forced the Rises screenplay to tie up the plot threads of The Dark Knight and Batman Begins…
If you’ve been reading my reviews, you’ll know that I tend to dislike movies about people with disabilities, maladies or unfortunate circumstances overcoming their problems, usually with swells of mediocre music and a cheap plea for tears.It’s not that I don’t like seeing people succeed when the odds are more likely that they’ll fail; rather…
