“Rental Family” is a sensory delight on every level. Shot in Japan by director Hikari (Mitsuyo Miyazaki), who knows the country intimately, the film reflects her deep roots. Born in Osaka and trained at […]
Hits & Misses: Rental Family: Two Hits
Hits & Misses: Bugonia: Two Hits
The best way to experience Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest tour de force “Bugonia” is to go in blind—so if you haven’t seen it yet, stop reading and head straight to the theater. The […]
HITS & MISSES: One Battle After Another: Two Hits
One Battle After Another is easily the most dazzling film of 2025—a tour de force pairing director Paul Thomas Anderson, at the height of his powers, with extraordinary source material: Vineland by Thomas Pynchon. At nearly three […]
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues: Two Hits
You walk into the theater with some trepidation. Can Spinal Tap II: The End Continues possibly match the flat-out hilarity of the largely improvised 1984 rock and roll satire This Is Spinal […]
The Roses: A Hit and a Miss
The allure of The Roses is undeniable: a late-summer release with A-list actors, a sharp script, and plenty of visual flair. In a market dominated by superheroes, Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman […]
Hits and Misses: Honey Don’t: A Hit and a Miss
Ethan Coen’s third solo outing, Honey Don’t, is a reminder that the Coen brothers were always better together. Classics like The Big Lebowski, Fargo, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? balanced Ethan’s irreverent humor with Joel’s self-conscious artistry. Honey Don’t offers the familiar […]
My Memories of Bill Moyers (June 5, 1934 – June 26, 2025)
When Bill Moyers gave me a shot in the early 1990’s and hired me as a fledgling producer/director, he was a couple of years younger than my parents. Yet he never […]
Hits & Misses: F1: The Movie: Two Hits
Even if you’re not a Formula One fan, F1: The Movie is well worth seeing—and absolutely demands to be seen on the big screen. Director Joseph Kosinski, hand-picked by Tom Cruise to […]
HITS & MISSES: Nickel Boys: Two Hits
Adapting an acclaimed book for the screen isn’t always wise. Too often, literary devices that propel a story on paper weigh down the visual medium. Thankfully, that’s not the case in […]
