Film

A QUARTET WORTH TUNING INTO Les Musiciens (The Musicians) is a comedy that is not afraid to be intelligent. It’s a welcome cinematic entry for discerning moviegoers who care about more than superheroes and vampires. The engaging and well-paced plot is about the creation of an impossible concert by a quartet of musicians who’ve never…

ANDERSON’S REPUBLIC OF OBJECTS Something has shifted in Wes Anderson’s dollhouse universe. The Phoenician Scheme arrives with all the expected geometric precision, but underneath the familiar symmetries lurks an unfamiliar bite. Arms dealer Anatole “Zsa-Zsa” Korda (Benicio del Toro) has survived six assassination attempts by the time we meet him in 1950. He’s a jaded…

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CARL BEAN Directors Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard have given the world a much needed uplift in the guise of their fascinating new documentary on the life of Archbishop Carl Bean named, I Was Born This Way. But why is the title reminiscent of Lady Gaga’s mega-hit, “Born This Way?” Because…

COSTUMES, CONFIDENCES AND THE CANOVA SISTERS SPARKLE LIKE DIAMONDS Director Ferzan Özpetek’s latest dramedy, Diamonds, is about to open at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center, and I had the pleasure of getting an early view. I knew it centered on a costume atelier reminiscent of the legendary Umberto Tirelli’s, and I immediately thought…

A HOUSE DIVIDED E.1027: Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea is what I would call—in a good way—an eccentric film. It’s a curiously interpretive pastiche of multiple elements: docu-fiction, bio-pic, archival footage, imagined scenes with actor recreations, narrative voiceovers, stylized scenes dramatically lit on a stage, readings from diaries and letters, along with…

WHEN THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS GOT A WAKE-UP CALL Drop Dead City is that rare beast: a documentary that turns a major city’s fiscal crisis into an edge-of-your-seat thriller. There’s a strong parallel to what’s happening in our economic and political times today, nationally and locally. It could’ve just been a wonky educational film but…

Over the past decade, the British film industry has not shied away from exploring the complexities of sexuality, desire, and the human psyche through cinema. Erotic films from the UK have carved out a distinctive niche, often blending sensuality with psychological depth, emotional nuance, and cultural commentary. Below is a rundown of five standout erotic…

There’s something magnetic about watching a great athlete come to life on screen. Maybe it’s the roar of the crowd recreated with surround sound. Maybe it’s seeing the weight of pressure behind the highlight reels. Or maybe it’s just that sports, with all their heartbreak and triumph, make perfect drama. It’s no wonder so many…

TIME AND TIME AGAIN, THIS FILM IS WILD, WITTY, AND WICKEDLY FUNNY Here’s a British delight that serves up a deliciously daffy mix of cunning comedy and science fiction—let’s call it “Sly-Fi,” a perfectly fitting term for this kooky genre blend. The triumphant mockumentary, Time Travel Is Dangerous, dares to be loopy and over the…

THIS FILM IS LIVING LARGE WITH HUGE AMOUNTES OF PLEASURE AND CREATIVITY As sweet and as rich as the high-calorie concoctions the lovable lead character covets and consumes, the stop-motion animated film Living Large is a treat, but the sympathetic portrait of this sad sack doesn’t become saccharine. Twelve-year-old Ben, a burdened, bullied, body-shamed boy…

A KINGDOM OF RICHES If you think that a survivor story on film about a boy and his dog battling the odds and a myriad of dangers will only keep you interested and involved if it looks rugged and realistic, is fueled by a rarely stopping barrage of heart-stopping chills and thrills, tragedy and terror,…

HOME COURT: HOOPS, HURDLES AND HEART The probable target audience for Home Court consists of those who find joy in playing basketball themselves or those who happily watch from the stands or on television. (Right now, college and professional games dominate TV schedules—it’s called March Madness.) But what if you’re not particularly thrilled by the…

I was a teen in the ’70s and I can assure you that everybody in Europe over 13 who wasn’t living under a rock knew something about the Butter Scene in Last Tango in Paris, the 1972 film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider. You could not escape the despicable…