film criticism by maryann johanson | handcrafted since 1997
Two brilliant dramas upend cinematic tropes of male vengeance with precision, patience, and grim humor. These are radical rethinks in emotional maturity surrounding men’s grief, remorse, and shame.
Elisabeth Moss, Saoirse Ronan, Mare Winningham, and Annette Bening take on Chekhov; Gemma Arterton runs away from her family; and more…
In *Eat Pray Love,* Julia Roberts’s newly divorced writer travels to Rome, India, and Bali in order to figure out who she is and what she wants from life, and creating her own family of friends along the way. This flick sprang from (among other films)…
Larry King Live is dead. Long live Larry King Live… without Larry King? Larry King has announced that his long-running (25 years) talk show on CNN will end sometime this fall, because the 77-year-old wants to spend time with his kids going to their Little League games. Seriously. Most men of his age are going … more…
U.S. AND CANADA/OPENING WIDE Knight and Day: Tom Cruise does some spy stuff and runs around a lot, while Cameron Diaz does a lot of screaming and runs around like a girl. If you can’t make it to the multiplex, try: • The 39 Steps (1935): Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll are mismatched maybe-spies in … more…
